Obelisk: Kingdom of Gods
by VesperChan
Summary: Entering the final kingdom, Sakura stands atop a castle of sand to face down the gods who first orchestrated the curse and began the bloody tradition of collecting human souls in a little black obelisk. Gladiators, Egyptian gods, and blood thirsty pharaohs paint a vivid picture on the inside of her mind as she sleeps, dreams, and struggles once again.
1. Chapter 1

Part 4 in the Obelisk series: Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kingdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:  
KINGDOM OF GODS**

 _Gladiator Boneyard_

* * *

"I went into the desert to forget about you. But the sand was the color of your hair. The desert sky was the color of your eyes. There was nowhere I could go that wouldn't be you."  
Jeffrey Eugenides- "Middlesex"

* * *

Her wrists had been burning for days, chaffed and raw from the metal shackles around her wrists. Sakura stared out across the desert lands she had to follow the other slaves through, watching it go on and on and on without end. She would have to trek it all in order to get to the shore where boats were waiting to take them to market.

It had taken them days to get through the hungry lands, where nothing grew. It tore at Sakura's patience more than anything else, to wait in her shackles and see nothing for miles around. To sleep and see sand and wake again only to do it all over again the next night made her mad. She was not meant for endless filler. She had a job to do. She was here in the dream world to find the Obelisk and move on to the next level. That was the whole reason she gave up on her assured happiness.

"Don't drag!" one of the slavers barked, striking out at someone at the back of the line.

Sakura looked back over her shoulder and saw someone smaller than her, younger too, struggling to keep up with the others. The girl was panting and her face was red, if not devoid of details. She wasn't an actor, she wasn't important, but she was suffering.

'What will you do?' the spirits in the wind seemed to tither for her ears. Sakura didn't know how sane she was anymore, or how wondrous the dream was since entering the last gate.

So far, every night for a solid week had been the same. The first day back into the dream she was lost in distortion and chaos as raiders ripped her from a tent in the middle of a grassy plain and folded her into a box with several other bodies. After that terrible night caught in claustrophobia she was yanked out and slammed into a pair of shackles and forced to match behind a band of other slaves.

Sakura tensed in her shackles and rattled them again. She could feel the energy that gave her power in the dream world, in the kingdom of beasts they called it chakra, but inside the shackles she was muted. The shackles kept her power at bay, blocking it and sucking away what was caught in overflow. She didn't know what was worse, not having powers or having powers that were worth nothing.

The line that connected one slave to another rattled and went taunt, forcing the bodies before and after Sakura to still and turn to look at the back of the line. The girl from before was gasping, lips slit and bleeding, eyes crying without tears from dehydration. She had fallen, halting the trek for all those still in chains linked to hers, and it didn't look like she would be getting up again soon.

One of the slavers, a man dressed head to toe in sand colored robes, prodded her body with his foot and then drew his sword. It was long and curved and came down angry. Sakura though it was meant for the chains, to separate her from the rest of them, but there was a wet splatter of red around his ankles as he lifted again and finished severing her hands from her arms. She convulsed and Sakura could only imagine the pain before a second slaver came over with a knife and struck it thorough her neck, cursing out the first slaver for his cruelty.

The broken men and woman around Sakura shivered at the sight, and she knew why he had cut the girls hands instead of the chain. Fear. There were five male slavers and two female, but between the seven masked figures there were over thirty slaves in chains, not including the dead girl.

The slaver with blood all over his legs turned and wiped his sword while watching the slaves in line, scanning their face for fear. He stared extra long at Sakura when she didn't flinch or drop her eyes. Maybe that wasn't a wise thing of her to do while still in chains, but he didn't make anything of it. Instead, he replaced his sword in its sheath and moved to the front of the line.

It was another two night of fear laced trekking through the dry lands before they laid down and made came under a dune of sand and rock. Sakura slept on the edge, but between the faceless people she had walked ahead and behind for nearly eight dreams.

Before she fell awake, she breathed deep and smelled something different in the air.

Salt.

* * *

"Do you want a coffee before going back?" Ino asks, tying up the front of her robe as she walks out into the living room where Sakura spent the night again. "I have tea too. You like tea, I remember."

It's morning. The dreamworld of sand and slaves and chains is gone, at least it is for a few more hours. Going without sleep doesn't work forever, and before she's ready, Sakura will have to dream of that world again.

That's what living with a curse is like.

Sakura ties up the laces on her boots and grunts something, because shaking her head hurts too much. It was unfair how the same night out could make her feel like the hunchback of Noterdam with a semi trailer stuck in her forehead while Ino looked like she just stepped off the page of a lingerie spread for Paris Fashion Week. It was an apt comparison, Sakura's seen the glossy prints Ino has of herself hanging and framed in her bedroom.

"I need to get going. I have work."

"You said your boss lost a client and that you don't have as much work anymore, I thought."

Sakura groaned. "No, the opposite. It's nearly tax season and everyone is crazy and there are so many last minute bastards that want six months worth of work done in two weeks. Ugh, I shouldn't have gone out last night."

"You needed it. Gosh, Sakura, you look like you _still_ need some time off. It's killing you to wake up in the morning." Ino sinks down into the seat alongside Sakura and stretches over, hugging her friend's shoulder.

"I can't take time off," Sakura whispered, hating how loud Ino's voice became when it was right next to her ear. "I need to get going. I'll get something on the way."

Sakura tried to shake Ino off, but instead of falling away the blond rose with Sakura, still hugging her shoulders, and followed Sakura all the way to the door. The closer she got, the more weight Ino put into her hold on Sakura, trying to drag the pale girl back.

"You were coughing in your sleep last night and super restless. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Ino, you need to stop being such a creep to other people when they sleep," Sakura bit out before a yawn forced her jaw open again and interrupted her words.

The blond pouted. "That was one time and the guy gets weird about it, turning it into a joke. I just like watching people sleep, it's not hurting anyone. Let me live."

"Let me go."

"Nooooo," the blond mewed, tugging her friend back even harder. "Karin is going to keep you locked up again and I won't see you for days. I'm shooting for a magazine in California next week, I'll be gone for the whole weekend."

"You have a phone."

"It's not the same! I could never do long distance with a relationship, even friends, I have to be there next to them, touching their hands and making sure they're real. Otherwise what's the use?"

"Ino," Sakura sighed, feeling her headach kick. "In another world where I'm not so damn tired I'd tell you to suck a rock and get over it, because you're not four anymore, but right now I really can't fight you on a verbal front so please just let me go. The sooner I get done the sooner I can rest again. _Please_."

The blond let Sakura go, but pouted loudly. "I'll help you find something else if you need the money. You don't even like your job."

Her head was throbbing and she hated the pressure building up behind her eyes. Sakura wanted to snarl all of a sudden. "Most people don't love their jobs, Ino. That's why it is called a _job_ , and not a hobby. Some of us weren't as fortunate as others and had to settle with what was available."

The reason Ino was where she was now was also the reason why Sakura was struggling to pay bills without any hope of going back to school in the near future.

Maybe it was a bit harsh, but Sakura was too tired and tense to be careful with her words. She had been understanding so far, but if this was the only time she sounded sour about her lot in life in comparison to Ino's, than that wasn't so bad.

Ino would be fine.

Sakura took the stairs two at a time to get to the car port. There was no one else in the hallways, but she always felt watched, but that was how she always felt when she became agitated it seemed.

Climbing into her station wagon Sakura turned on the radio and grimaced when she heard the swing jazz flow easily through her speakers. It made parts of her body vibrate with a pleasant memory. She killed the station and turned it to NPR, never looking behind her to see if Ino was on the balcony watching her drive away.

She didn't believe looking back would do her any good.

* * *

Sakura awoke in the dream world to shouting and then she was yanked into running with the group of slaves like they had never run before. There were screams and smoke from far behind them, angry shouting too. Ah, things were happening at last.

She didn't understand the words spoken, there was too much yelling to hear anything clearly, but she understood the urgency. Only three of the slavers were left, the other were absent. Sakura noticed the one who had killed the girl out of mercy was standing closest to her. The one who had chopped the girl's hands off was absent.

In the early morning things were still dark out, but more than the dim there was dust and sand in the air, making it hard to see clearly. Everything was a mess in front of her eyes, but she ran where she was pulled, and didn't think twice of it. As long as she was still in chains, there was nothing she could do.

An arrow killed the slave two bodies ahead of her. Everyone connected to him on the chain snagged as his body became a dead weight to drag through the sand. Another slave was struck in his leg. The wailing from behind her told Sakura there were others who were dying as well. The slavers were cursing, and the mercy killer ran forward to unlock the master link that kept the chain threaded through their shackles. A moment later she heard the click and the slaves on the ends were pulling out, trying to run free.

All around them were modest outcroppings of rocks and rises in the earth, but the easiest path away was one with no cover. Sakura saw a handful run down that way and fall onto their faces with arrows sticking out of their necks. Sakura was free of the chain, but she still had the shackles on that kept her chakra restrained.

Once the chain fell through the loop of her shackles she ran for the largest outcropping of rocks and rolled into the sand, covering herself with dirt and keeping her body as out of sight as possible. She wasn't going to die here after coming so far. She had a curse to beat.

First, she had to see who her enemy was. They had arrows, which meant they had the advantage of long range weapons and the cover of a dusty dusk. She couldn't see much more than shadows way off. She squinted and wanted to spit out the sand she tasted between her teeth. They were tall shadows, large ones too, likely mounted. She was shackled and didn't have a weapon, they weren't worth a frontal assault. She could be smart about this and still win, she had to be.

She didn't know the terrain of her surrounds very well, but she knew how to be adaptive. If there were rock outcrops, there might be something better for cover than what she had first settled on. Sakura crawled on her stomach towards the places where the grass and sand were thinnest. She found more rock under her hands and then a ledge. She turned herself around and lowered herself down, finding plenty of long, thin footholds. She kept climbing down, even after she felt a shelf of sand and grass pass her by. There was a gash in the earth where she could lower herself and hide while still maintaining a decent view of the trail snaking down in front of her rock.

Sakura knew how to wait and that payed off when the cruel slaver, the one who had cut the girls hands, passed by in front of her with a mounted Romans warrior with tanned, leathery skin to his left. Another two horses with mounted riders drew up, but across the rump of their steeds lay an unconscious slave each. Their commander looked unhappy, but maybe he was always that stern.

"It was not an impressive lot this time. I was most disappointed."

"You asked we keep their shackles on. This would have been very different if they were allowed to use their gift."

"The coliseum does not believe in, nor does it allow magic for its fighters. If they are worth anything to us in the ring, they can show it to us now."

"You were mounted and armed. What do you expect of the dehydrated, starved whelps?" The cruel slaver asked with a tone that might have been dismissive, but not disrespectful. He was talking to someone important.

"I expected another Ten girl or boy. The season is dry for my legion and the other units already have impressive fighters. I am dissatisfied."

"The day is not yet up, my friend. There still are slaves to be found."

"Hiding is not fighting. I have no need of a coward."

"I still anticipate your pleasure. Come, we will continue this way." The slaver and the commander turned and Sakura inwardly cursed when she caught sight of the commander's face. Though it was turned away, it was clear and vivid, the way only actors looked inside the dream world. He was a part of the dream she would have to become closer to.

She pressed herself to the rock and waited for them to move out of sight, mulling over their words. They were hunting the slaves as a test, they wanted fighters for a coliseum. He looked like he was dressed in Imperial Roman gold and red, so she didn't doubt the idea that her dream was burrowing from what she knew of the ancient civilization. A coliseum meant gladiators, and gladiators meant fights. It wasn't a stretch to imagine the plot of her new dream.

"Here, tracks."

Sakura's breath caught when she heard a newer voice, one from above. There wasn't much room to move, but there was dust and bits of rock falling on her head. She tried to see up, but it was still dim. A foot came into focus, sandals, and then bare leg. Someone was scaling the wall down to her, and soon she would be able to see his face, meaning he would be able to see her.

Before he could go much further Sakura leapt up and clawed at his leg, dragging him down. It wasn't a far fall, but he landed on his back and struck his head. Sakura didn't stop to check if that did the trick, she already had a rock and was lifting it to smash against his temple.

H _e didn't have a face, it didn't matter that she killed the man, he was just a part of the dream, he wasn't real_.

"Oi?" there was another voice. "Did you fall?" Sakura was out in the open now, still covered by the shadow of the rock-face, but she was still in shackles that gave her limited movement.

The dead solider had a knife on him, maybe something else, but the knife was long and sharp enough for her to work with. When she heard the hurried footsteps she pressed herself up against the rocks where shadows would keep her shaded until a new body moved into view. She didn't hear the words he said, but took the steps to his neck before she had time to think about what she was doing. Sideways into the neck, and then out. Her legs were painted red as she stood over the two bodies.

She had killed before. This wasn't new. She was no stranger to blood, but that had been too easy.

Sakura checked her breathing and realized she wasn't weary. Like the Kingdom of Beasts, this dream didn't put on her the limitations of the waking world. That was likely one of her greatest advantages, to never slow down or tire in a fight. If she had the shackles off she could see what else she could still do.

Sakura looked down at the bloody knife and tried to fit its point into the lock hole. She understood the basics of lock picking, mostly because she loved puzzles and locks were just a different type of puzzle. But this wasn't so much a puzzle as it was an impossible task. The links between one wrist to the other were five long, enough for her to move around semi freely, but the lock hole was under her wrist, and it was nearly impossible to reach it with her dominate hand.

Her legs were cold where the blood still lingered. Sunlight was coming and the sands were starting to glow with the first hints of light. Soon disability would be better and her defense would be lacking. What did that mean for her? Her gun told her to go after the Romans, one of them was an actor. But she had just killed two of his men and she was still a slave in his eyes. What would he do to her once they met?

"What will you do now?"

Sakura whirled to face the new voice. He was dressed like one of the slavers, but one vertical half his face was covered by cloth connecting to a turban. Sakura saw he had two distinctive, red markings on the right side of his face, the only visible part of his head. They reminded her of Kiba, almost. But just as she studied him, he studied her. He wasn't really a slaver.

"You're not an actor, are you…"

"The guide?" he asked in a rough hum that echoed all throughout his body. When Sakura didn't move he went on to nod. "I'm not like Hayate, a manipulated ghost, nor am I like Kimimaru, a subservient desperate for love."

"And Sai?"

"Nor am I like the Sigh of Dejection, wherever he may be." He shook his head and the cloth barely moved. She doubted she would ever see under it. "No, I am your guide, but now one you can anticipate."

"So you just have a brand new angle, right? What is it for you? Sai wanted to help me, Kimimaru wanted to kill me, Hayate wanted a good story but was caught on a leash for Madara. How will you be different?"

"Once upon a time guides were supposed to be neutral forces, offering support to aid the dreamer, but never directly interfering with the dream. Maybe that is who I am, maybe now. Regarding my council and what I say, you will have to make a choice on what to trust, if anything."

"And what do you say?"

"Seek out the legionnaire. He is an Uchiha, one of the few you will ever meet this deep into the curse. His name is Indra and he is looking for a slave like you to fight for him in the coliseum. I won't tell you if that's the only way to finding this gate's Obelisk, but you can be guaranteed that things will happen if you meet with him now."

"That's terribly helpful," Sakura snorted, sarcasm thick. "How do I know he's safe?"

Baki took another step back, starting to turn away. "You don't, but you are the dreamer." He took another step and there was sand all around him. His body broke down and seeped into the wind, just another handful of desert grains. A moment later and Sakura was alone with two dead bodies and a useless knife stuck in her shackle's keyhole.

At least she knew about her guide in this gate. Over a week of mindless filler dreaming and it seemed like things were finally starting to move. She had an idea of what she needed to do, and where she needed to go.

Sakura picked the knife out of her shackles and started to sprint back up the hill, heading in the direction both men had come from. If they had come from that place, than maybe their horses were still there. Horses had saddlebags with things that might be used as keys, right? It would look better to not have her restraints when she meets the new actor.

 _Indra Uchiha_. Just when she thought she had met the last of them, there was one still hiding out. This was the last gate, and after she passed through she would be in the last kingdom. How many people had died if every actor she had ever met was someone who had died with the curse? She knew it was a lot, but there were too many faces and names to put on that long list of numbers. Poor Haku and Zabuza and Kisame. Poor Kiba and Shizune and Tsunade. Poor Neji and Lee and Tenten. Poor Uchihas, each one more miserable in memory than the last.

Sakura came to the crest of the ridge and saw a pair of horses, left behind with their simple saddles and pretty red ornaments. The gold details that were on Indra's horse were missing, but that was likely because the ones she killed were not as important. Indra was their leader.

The chaffing of her wrists remind Sakura what she is after, and she searches through the bag behind the horses saddles, looking for something she can use. The first horse complied easily enough, but when she goes for the second, it rears and cries out on a loud pitch before settling down enough for Sakura to get into the saddlebag.

Nothing.

It would be so much easier if she could just think up a key to fit into her lock, but the shackles keep her from using any of her abilities. It had been such a long time since she last dreamed up something out of nothing.

"What are you doing?" Sakura turned and spun away just in time to avoid an arrow to the foot. The horses had wandered only a hair's breath away, but when they heard the arrow they reared and ran, taking their cover with them. Sakura was out in the open with only her knife and the blood on her legs. She couldn't even see who was shooting at her.

Time seemed to slow down as she spun and took in the new details of the land behind her shoulders. A shadow, not mounted, sand in the air, no cover; the thoughts flashed across her mind like they were cars on a subway line and she was standing still on the platform. The distance between her and the guard wasn't something she could cover before he fired another arrow, and he was already notching another as she turned.

Her arm snapped into motion and she remembered what it felt like to throw a knife with all the muscles of her body. It should have hit his neck, she had excellent aim, but the shackles on her wrist threw her off and the blade landed in his shoulder. He screamed in pain but remained standing. She saw him move for another weapon and she knew she would have to go in close if she hoped to leave with her life.

Sakura was running for him and used the chains between her wrists to her advantage, even when they had been the reasons she had to fight up close. He had a dagger out, much like the one she had just thrown, and he took a swipe at her before she could raise her hands. It tore a shallow stream through her abdomen, but the blood was thin; it was nothing she would have to worry about.

He brought his knife up again and she forced the rest of her body to be faster as she raised her hands and brought them down around his neck. Sakura slide in the dust and sand to stand behind him and pulled the chain between her shackles taunt. He choked on a crushed windpipe and went down in seconds. If she had tried to choke him the long way he would have likely gotten free with her dagger and she would in trouble.

"Don't move or the arrow make a home in you thigh."

Sakura froze, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She was in trouble regardless of what she did.

"Keep her from running, she's the one he'll want."

"Don't lower your arrows, fool."

There were two more men, making a total of three voices surrounding her. Slowly, Sakura raised her hands above her head, palms up in a gesture of surrender.

"Don't move, we have our points on you, slave."

Sakura snarled to herself, hating the feeling of loosing. She had fire in her blood and her front was stinging. She needed to keep moving, she needed to fight her way out, but… She started to turn and the sound of a string's snap came before the fire bloomed from the place where the arrow grazed her ribs. She bit her lip and drew blood in her mouth.

"Don't, you kill her and he'll have our heads!"

"She's already killed one of our men. You want to be next?"

"Did you forget the whole point of our mission out here?"

"I was careful."

"You," the last voice finally called out to her. "Rest the chain behind your head and keep your hands up. Move in a way we don't like and it won't go well for you, otherwise you don't have a reason to fear."

Sakura did as she was instructed, wincing when the tear from the arrow in her side made her wince. She was bleeding from two new places, not counting her mouth.

One of the guards came to stand in front of her and she didn't see anything about his face to make it worth her memory. The guard in front of her her had s short sword and he used it to turn her around and make her walk. She followed the two Romans in front of her as they led her around another cropping of rocks down to a path where more figures waited.

Sakura wanted to scowl and spit when she recognized the slavers. At their feet were the bodies of three different slaves with arrows making their backs look like pin cushions. Their slaughter was excessive, but she wasn't one to judge. She had the blood of just as many on her hands.

"What is this?" a sharp voice asked.

 _Indra_.

Sakura looked up and saw the only one with a face sharp with details. He was staring down at her like she was just as clear. Maybe she was. Maybe that was how actors saw dreamers. Either way, his stare was still fixed on her with no sign of it venturing off elsewhere.

The cruel slaver smirked to himself, taking a step towards Sakura and slapping her elbow. "This…" The slaver circled and she could feel his eyes one her. "Is what you were waiting for. How many did your Ten girl kill before you brought her in?"

"Two, but she injured others," a meeker voice added, speaking to the commander and not to the slaver. Their leader grunted in acknowledgment.

"But was she chained and restricted from using any chakra?" the slaver pressed, sounding tense.

"What good is the history, tell me what she is worth. They only saw one body," the Roman leader replied, pressing his heels into the side of his mount so he could stand closer to Sakura, still staring down at her.

The Roman who had led her away with his short sword at her back poked her again and she flinched, taking a half step forward. He waved his sword at her legs where the dried blood was dark and flaking. "There may be others. She has too much blood on her legs for peace and hiding." He looked up at his leader and saw the dark haired Uchiha was still watching Sakura. "Indra?"

Indra looked over Sakura's shoulder at his subordinate and glared. Sakura suspected he didn't like being addressed by his first name, but he could have been in a sour mood for other reasons. "She'll have to do, that's not in question, but price is still the objective. Is she worth as much as my brother's girl?"

"That depends on how many she killed," the Roman at her back replied, lowing his sword. "How many men have not reported back, including the ones we know to be dead?"

Sakura saw out of the corner of her eye, the expression that took over the partially covered face of the cruel slaver. He looked like the cat that got the cream and it made shivers run up and down her spine. He looked smug, like things were going the way he said they would. They were going to buy one of his slaves, so why shouldn't he look smug? He was going to make money off of her, she was going to make him richer. That smug look was for her. After days of her in his chains, he was finally going to make her into something.

Something that tasted like ash and rage made her belly hot. She moved fast enough that no one expected it when she slammed her bound hands down and grabbed the short sword for herself. The Roman she took the sword from was still too shocked to react as side stepping with the blade and launching herself into a spin that carried the full force of her downward momentum into the face of her cruel slaver. Her short sword sunk easily and she knew she had hit her mark when a gusher of red coated her hands.

There was shouting all around her and she dropped the short sword and kept her hands up before bending to rest on one knee. Around her people were shouting as the other slavers rushed to their dead friend. One looked disgusted and the other looked ticked off.

Sakura grunted as she was pushed into the dirt and a pair of bodies stepped on her, putting pressure on her neck and hands. There were a number of new blades drawn out around her as well, in case she should true to move again. She wouldn't, but they didn't know that.

"Who is in charge of finances now?" Indra asked, voice stern as he rode his horse over.

From where her face was pressed into the ground Sakura could see hooves and little else. She tried to turn slightly and blood bloomed on her neck from where a Roman pointed his arrow's tip. There was a clink of heavy metal and gold pieces spilled down in front of Sakura, drawing her attention back. The commander's sandals were down in the sand and walking towards them.

"Get off of her," he barked, and someone went flying. "Kotetsu, take her and put her on my horse. You and Izumo will flank me."

Sakura was rolled over and two new faces came into focus as the new men dressed in red and white helped her up. Sakura felt herself wince from the sharp throb from her open wounds. But even her wounds couldn't keep her from staring when she was able to make out the sharp details of the two faces in front of her. She assumed they were Kotetsu and Izumo, but whoever they were, they were actors. One wore his hair long and pushed back, while the other had his combed to one side to hide an eye. Both had similarly dark eyes and matching weary expressions.

They began to turn her around, no doubt intending to do as they were told, but Indra called out to them once more. Sakura looked up as the Uchiha commander approached. Indra stopped in front of her and pinched her jaw, turning her face one way and then the other.

"Do you know you're the most expensive slave I've ever bought?" he hummed, watching her with vivid red eyes that seemed to spin.

"I'm _not_ a slave," Sakura bit out, remembering what it felt like to burn with the hate that set her insides on fire.

"You are for now, because as cruel as you are, you were weak enough to earn these shackles." He tapped her wrists. "This is your punishment, life will do that. Until you are stronger you are property: my property."

"I'll kill again."

"I hope you do. You are my champion. My brother holds a weapons expert who was worth 10 gold links, so we called her ten. I do not wish to give you a name. You are slave, or you are girl. You will not be called by a name until you earn it with your first victory in a ring." His fingers left her face and he took a step back. "For you I paid double what the last girl was worth. Do _not_ disappoint me."

He turned away from her and walked without looking back.

.

* * *

AN: Kingdom of Gods is finally happening! More was supposed to happen in this first chapter, but I decided to stop it here instead of later on because I'm currently fighting a cold and can't keep my eyes open long enough to write, but I wanted this done for today.

So, this is the first part, but more exciting things will happen next where Sakura meets both old and new faces and let me tell you...it's starting to get hard to find Naruto characters I like that haven't been used yet. The original plan was for no character to be used twice, but as you can tell, that didn't last long. There are a few I'm really looking forward to trying my hand at, though.

I hope you enjoyed. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 4 in the Obelisk series: Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kingdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:  
KINGDOM OF GODS**

 _Gladiator Boneyard_

* * *

"I went into the desert to forget about you. But the sand was the color of your hair. The desert sky was the color of your eyes. There was nowhere I could go that wouldn't be you."  
Jeffrey Eugenides- "Middlesex"

* * *

They had traveled back to a port, Sakura on the back of the Uchiha's mount, still shackled and tied like a sack of potatoes. The men, Kotetsu and Izumo, didn't talk much, or if they did it wasn't in front of their commander or the prisoner. Still, Sakura could see they were close. There was a good deal of nonverbal language that passed between them, even if she couldn't recognize it.

They took her to the ocean and stuffed her in what was likely a closet, since she laid on a sack of potatoes and had to push away a wooden bucket and mop to fit in the cramped space. They didn't offer apologies or explanations, but the one with the crazier hair did come back later with a rough tarp to leave on her knees, 'in case of the cold,' as he put it. It wasn't much, but Sakura would take the kindness where she could get it.

She felt when the turned back to see, as the ship left dock with a lurch and dip, bobbing on the rolling waves before straightening out. The salt and brine were heavy in her nostrils as the scents drifted through the aged wood of her walls. She breathed deep, and pretended she didn't miss the water.

Sakura sat in silence, waiting for the dream world around her to ebb or grow taunt. She even laid her head down and tried to go to sleep, but there was no sight of the dream ending. The world around her was firm and full. She wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, but there looked to be no major activity worth her attention. She would have to sit in silence, entertained only by her thoughts. It was no better then when she dreamed of trekking through the sand for days on end. This gate would kill her with monotony.

Maybe it was hours later, maybe it was only minutes, but later there were voices overhead to draw her attention upwards. The boards above her creaked and she heard a shuffle of worn soles on wood. Someone mumbled something and then there was a slap.

"Just curious!" a new voice whined, sounding cranky and pitched.

"You'll stay away from the lower holds if you value your head where it is."

"No, friend, it wasn't the head, just the brain. You didn't see it happen."

"I saw the mess."

There was a low whistle and someone chuckled before more shuffling.

"-That's just what they're saying cause she's a drink for the legionnaire, eh?"

There was a thud, like someone jumping down from a height. "Yeah, she was quite a sight, but that don't mean nothing but they wanted it convincing."

"Go back to your post, man." That voice she recognized, but she couldn't remember which of the two men it belonged to, either Kotetsu or Izumo. Which one had the long brown hair cut over one eye? "Rumors like that will land you on the leash."

Someone laughed mockingly and there was more shuffling. More time passed before the voices rejoined. She could always hear something, but she suspected they would have to be directly overhead for her to be able to clearly hear them speaking. There were words exchanged about norther expansion and Ghuals, the burning at the library men couldn't get over, and something about lots being unfavorable with the new season of fighters.

Sakura tried to doze, but sleep wouldn't come and the dream was too real to let her go, even as the cracks of light faded from something bright to a faded memory. She didn't hunger, but she knew if she did, she would have been famished for so long without food.

The world around her was oddly reminiscent of the Kingdom of Beasts in a way she couldn't quite put her finger on. There was something, a feeling, she couldn't shake. The culture and the country were ones she recognized easily enough from history books, but the last gate felt as taunt and tense as the second kingdom on her Obelisk.

'Brutal. You must be brutal,' the voice inside Sakura's heart echoed. It was a truth she wished to turn over and never have to look at again. Blood made this world run. She would have to remember how to spill it more affectionally if she was going to survive, but this time there was no Kisame or Zabuza to critique her stance or par with her blade. For now she was alone, she had no one.

There was a knock on the door before it began to swing open.

'No on yet.'

It was either the boy Kotetsu or Izumo, the one with the long spiky hair that had first brought her the blanket. In his hands he held a tray with food on it. He looked on the verge of panic when she caught his eye.

"Oh, don't let Izumo know I forgot your dinner. We're supposed to be keeping you well fed now, but I forgot. We haven't have a live prisoner to take care of in so long, it escaped me."

She made a guess. "You are the one called Kotetsu."

"That's me. Ah, the other one I was just talking about, he's in my unit and we graduated together. You'll see him too, he helps me take care of you, or he will, like he does, or, not like that. Ah, here, this is supposed to be your food. Do you need help eating it?"

"I will manage," Sakura mused, looking down at the plate where various meats aside than fish sat atop a plate of rice and bread. For being on a shipping vessel, it was a luxurious meal in comparison to what the others would likely be getting served. Too good to be true. "That food's too rich. It'll make me sick all at once. I won't be able to finish it all."

The boy looked a little taken aback, staring down at the food and then her face. "Ah, then…eat what you can? I can tell the others not to bother with the fancy food. Basics like bread and green things are okay though, right?"

Sakura shifted in her seat atop the crate as best she could, moving her wrists onto her lap and into plain, open sight. Her eyes narrowed at his own unfettered wrists. "It will do," Sakura answered in a bored tone.

"That's good. It will be another day and a half of sailing with good winds to reach port, but don't count on getting lucky. We might be light cargo, but we're under a cruel fate. The gods do us no kindness."

Sakura hated the idea of more mindless days for travel where nothing would happen in the dream, but resolved to white knuckle through it. She shifted towards the food and the chain between her wrists slipped down, off her knees. Kotetsu caught her eye.

"When will these shackles come off?" Sakura asked.

"Not until we reach the estate house." When she glared he chuckled in good humor. "Don't look so upset. We're not bread brained like the fool Carthaginians. We know better than to remove your bindings, least you kill or run away."

"What if I gave you my word that I wouldn't?" Sakura asked, leaning forward, her body taking on a posture of hope.

Kotetsu smiled at her, but it was a smile full of pity. "What use is the word of a slave?" He ducked his head and left her to the food.

No one else came to visit Sakura that night, and before she knew it the world outside was dark and lit only by stars and a waxing moon. Still, the dream world refused to end or even give any indication of possibly coming to an end. Time was such a hard concept to measure within the dream, but Sakura could have sworn this was the longest she had ever stayed awake in a dream. It was near maddening.

When dawn broke, Sakura felt no more tired nor did she feel any closer to the tension that preceded the ending of every dream. A boy who's face lacked details came into her room and took her plate of untouched food and left her rice and vegetables in a bowl. They were still steaming and smelled richly of seasonings, but Sakura had no hunger, so she refused to eat.

The same thing happened for lunch. When Dinner came it was Kotetsu who delivered the meal. He frowned at the plate she left untouched and insisted on checking the skin of her face for fever and her wrists for a weak pulse, but she was unchanged.

"Is this a hunger strike? We're only going to be at sea for one more day, maybe a little more. What do you hope to accomplish?"

Sakura rattled her shackles and glared. "I give you my word, I won't run away or hurt you."

He gave her the same sad smile full of pity before leaving her again.

Still, the dream went on, spanning another similar day; an untouched breakfast and an ignored lunch. By the time her third meal came, she was nearly mad from anxiety, but Kotetsu's face int he doorway made her anger wide and simmering. She collected her rages under her skin and held it all back, saving it for later.

Like the night before, they exchanged words. He was worried about her eating, nothing they had brought her had been touched. They didn't know she didn't need food inside the dream, so naturally they began to grow worried. Kotetsu left and came back with his friend Izumo who checked her eyes and skin and heart rate for sickness, only to find nothing unusual.

"What are we going to do?" Kotetsu asked, trying to keep his voice to a whisper as he conversed with his friend in the far corner. The room was far too small to keep any privacy in conversation, but it seemed they didn't really care if she heard them or now.

"We'll be in port tomorrow morning, mid day at the latest. She will last till then. I doubt Ibiki will let her starve herself."

When they left Sakura paced, falling into squats and push ups for no reason other than to escape the mounting boredom that threatened to turn her mad. She worked until she sweat and then began to thrash against the walls. She clawed at things, throwing her whole body into her fit. Her nails were bloody from the tantrum when she fell back agains the wall.

She was still shaking and she wondered if she was having a fit when Kotetsu and a nameless boy came rushing in to see what had happened. Izumo came in a little later, his expression stern and uncaring as he took in the damaged property and bloodstains left from where she broke skin.

The nameless boy reached for her hands and she snarled at him, making him retreat on a single, cracking cry of fear. He fell backwards onto his rump and scooted away, leaving Kotetsu to reach for Sakura on her own.

"What happened?" Kotetsu asked, still looking her over.

"Take the damn shackles off or so help me, there will be no reason for my kindness," Sakura seethed, feeling the hair that fell in front of her face stick to her skin with sweat. She was still shaking and glaring and hoping she looked mean enough to kill, because she sure felt it.

"We told you we-"

Sakura reached and her bloody hands were around his neck, thumbs pressed to the point where his throat bulged. She could pop him like a pimple on reflex and he would be dead, it was the way Kisame taught her. The other two males in the room reacted violently, one scrambling away, the other racing towards his friend. Sakura saw Izumo and threw Kotetsu out so the two boys collapsed together.

"Don't think I couldn't kill you or that I'm not dangerous because of these shackles. These things will never guarantee your protection."

"You nearly killed him," Izumo snapped.

"And I could have, but I didn't." Sakura rattled her chains. "Take these off of me."

For a while no one moved, and Sakura thought she had gone too far, she had snapped in the worst possible way and now they were going to do something worse than shackle her, but her head was a mess and she thought she was going to go mad. She had been awake too long and nothing had happened. She wasn't meant for this.

Whatever they were going to say, Kotetsu at least held his words back when he saw her tears begin to slip free. Beside him, Izumo huffed. "You're a slave, we owe you nothing. If we have to incapacitate you we will. No more noise from you. The crew is trying to sleep." He picked up his friend and dragged him out, slamming the door shut and leaving Sakura alone in the dim.

Sakura felt heavy, but not the way a person would feel heavy after a long run. No, her weightiness came from something else, something emotional. Her spirit was weary, and it had little to do with the feeling of shackles on her wrists. She hated what the chains made her feel. She felt beaten and humbled and it was too much for too long after all the worlds that worshiped her in the dream.

It was natural for the dreamer to be loved, to be desired. There was a natural pull that attracted actors to the dreamer, and she saw it in the way Pein cared for her, how Kisame took her under his wing, how Kiba adored her, how Madara loved her. She bit her cheek before she could say Sasori's name. No, Sasori wasn't like that. Yeah, he liked her, loved her even, but it wasn't because he was an actor and she was a dreamer. She knew it in her heart that he had planted himself there.

She missed Sai. Sai was supposed to come to her and offer words of comfort and encouragement. He was supposed to tell her he believed in her and that she would be able to win this time, after centuries of others failing. Sai was supposed to be next to her, but he was dead because she killed him.

"This isn't fair," Sakura cried into the woodgrains of the dirty floorboards. Her body shivers as she rolled onto her side and curled up in a ball.

"No, it's not fair, but that is the whole point of curses." Sakura looked up at the new voice and saw Baki standing in the corner. He was shaking his head with disapproval, but the side of his face blocked by cloth never peaked through. "Really, I thought you would have understood that by now."

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, hope budding in her chest.

"I observe."

Sakura coughed, shifting and feeling her lungs wince. When she woke up she would be bloody and sore. "You're not going to tell me something important, like, I'll have to do this or go here or meet this person in order to succeed?"

Baki stared her down, silently for a time before finally answering. "No, not at all. You will be doing this on your own."

She felt the old embers of her anger snap to life again. "What are you good for then!"

She wanted Sai back. Damn, at this rate even Hayate would be better. At least Hayate was someone she could talk to a little bit. Baki seemed cold, not just removed, but also dismissive of her. She didn't know how good she had it with Sai. Every day she missed him more.

When she looked up, Baki was gone and she wanted to scream, but she was too tired. What had been the point of him watching her and talking to her like that. He did nothing but make her feel small. He didn't help and he didn't try to hinder her, it didn't make sense why he would do anything.

If he wanted to observe her, why appear where she could see him watching her? Knowing someone saw her in chains inspired shame in Sakura's heart. She didn't want anyone seeing her in chains. She wasn't a slave. She had a name. She was worth more than this.

It was night, but then morning broke and there were loud voices up above Sakura's head. The voices grew louder and then there were cheers. They were crying out for land, they had sight of land. Soon they would dock and the next stage in her dream would begin.

Sakura reached out, trying to feel the edges of her dream, to taste and see where it would end. There was no end to it, and for a moment she feared her dream might last forever. Time meant nothing in a dream. She might just sleep for a day and have it seem like a week or a month or a year. She would wake up the next morning forgetting how to live in the world of reality because all she could remember for centuries was a world inside of a dream. The though made her spine ram rod straight in fear.

Her door was opened and she looked up to see a round ball land on the floor close to her. It was hissing smoke. The door slammed shut and Sakura heard the click as her cabin filled up with the billowing fumes. There was light behind her eyes and her head began to drift, feeling light.

Sakura cursed, falling off her seat and onto her knees. Her lungs expanded on a painful cough and she bent over, hacking. It sounded like ripping bedsheets as she doubled over. She fell onto her side and kicked the empty ball away with her heels, coughing up what was left of her lungs.

The door opened and men rushed in. She was too slow and light headed to stop them as a black sack hood was slipped over her head and tied off. Shackles went on her ankles and she jerked at the feel of a metal collar around her neck. The chain was heavy under her chin, connecting her collar to her hands to her ankles.

Sakura was still so light from the smoke, but she could feel the weight and wanted to cry. What she must look like. One set of shackles was bad enough, but now there was no escaping it. She was bound like a slave and lifted onto the shoulder of a sailor like she was no better than flour in a sack.

She wanted to say something, but when she began to scream one of the sailor slapped the side of her face so hard her head snapped. Someone else swore and she was shifted to someone new. Sakura couldn't help it, she cried a little, unable to even touch the stinging of her cheek. It hurt and there was nothing she could do. No one cared, there were no actors, and even those who were around her didn't seem attached to her like they had been in other kingdoms or gate worlds. Not like the other dream worlds at all…

She heard speaking.

"Put her on the mule, she'll ride along with the other two, but keep her in the middle. If one of them falls off it shouldn't be her. She's the expensive one."

She was dropped over an animals back and next she felt two other bound bodies laid down on either side of her. Moments later the uneven journey began. It was a mess of bumps and stumbles later when the animal finally stopped and the sounds and smells of the port market were distant and absent from her senses. The sun was hotter on her back than before as well.

She felt the change in where the mule was walking as it switched from dusty road to stone path. Something made the steps of those around her echo, and Sakura itched to be rid of her hood. There was more talking, but someone was pulling the other two slaves down and their chains were so loud Sakura couldn't hear anything much, and what little she did hear, she couldn't match to a face.

"That's the one, take her to the stables."

"Ibii isn't in a good mood today."

"When is he ever in a good mood."

"You don't want to save it. She looks tired. He'll rip her to shreds."

"She was worth double the average fare, she should be able to stand up against his probing. Take her there now. I'll have the maids take care of these two kids."

"Speaking of kids- you have- and the-" The words were in and out, blurring in Sakura's ears as she too was lifted up and shifted so her chains slid around against her shackles and collar. She was led somewhere, yanked and prodded when she didn't stuble fast enough for whoever was leading her.

She smelled the stable when they arrived, and heard the animals greet and preen on their own in stalls not far from where Sakura was dragged in. Another violent tug pulled her into a pile of hay and then something closed behind her. A door. The person leading her bent down and began to unclip the shackles around her ankles and then the collar around her neck. He tugged on the hood and pulled it free right before slipping out to leave her in her wrist shackles alone and confused atop a bed of hay.

Moments later she heard voices outside the stall, one of them she recognized, the other was new. A tall scarred man opened the stall door and Indra stepped in, dressed brilliantly in crimson and white. His sandals were of well crafted leather and his legs looked all the better in them. Sakura lifted her head and observed the rest of the man who bought her and kept herself from paying any more compliments.

She would hate this man.

"They told me you refused to eat."

Sakura kept her lips pressed tight. She doubted they had color anymore as she insisted on silently glaring up at him. She wouldn't say anything she didn't want to.

Indra didn't seem concerned with her refusal to answer. He tilted his chin up and looked her over, stepping closer and touching the side of her face. She flinched in reflex, not meaning to show weakness. He frowned at her reaction. "Someone will come in to treat this immediately. Food will be brought as well."

He grabbed her chain and his fingers pressed parts of her swollen face, digging painfully into the reddened skin on purpose. "You will eat and you will cooperate." There were no threats, only orders.

He dropped her face and her whole body fell backwards into the hay. He shook his hand as if she had been something dusty or dirty and walked towards the exit. "Ibiki, see to it she is dealt with an once all is in place I want her gutted."

Someone else who wasn't the scarred man heard the order for food and scampered off, bare feet slapping against the wood of the stables. Indra waited by the door with his arms crossed and his chin lifted as the man with a face that had seen the sharp end of a blade more than once, bent down in front of Sakura. His hand glowed a sickly green and Sakura thought of her own healing chakra. She closed her eyes, welcoming the sensation, but when his chakra met her face it stung. She tried to pull away but he held her down and healed her face with his biting chakra, even as the sensation brought tears to her eyes.

When it was all over she looked up and saw that the man in scars was talking to Indra about something resistant when a boy came in with rice and vegetables in a bowl. Ibiki took the food and the spoon and turned back to Sakura. She knew better, but she still backed away when he approached her. He held her hand and she cried before he could force anything into her mouth, saying she would cooperate.

"I'll do it! I'll do it, stop!"

Ibiki grunted, dropping the food onto her lap where it spilled. "Pathetic. To crack so soon…"

Indra glared down at the arms he had crossed over his chest. "That's not a great matter to me. Her mental state need not diminish her fighting prowess. See that her hands are well protected throughout the ordeal. I don't want her thrashing and braking her wrist like the last one."

"Whatever I break I can fix."

"Just don't make it messy." Indra looked up over the scarred man and titled his head to one side, studying Sakura from a different angle. "If she stays in one piece we can let her out in the boneyard tomorrow."

"That's a bit soon for such a kid."

Sakura made sure to stuff her face and swallow down the food she couldn't taste as the two older men talked about her like she wasn't even there. She wasn't a human, she was a bought item. She was a thing in their eyes and they wouldn't see her any differently for as long as she dressed in shackles.

Sakura stopped eating and set the half finished bowl down. She licked the corner of her lips but didn't make a move to go for anything more. She ate. That's what they wanted. "Take these shackles off me," she ventured, holding out her wrists. "I swore I wouldn't try to run away."

Ibiki didn't even look at her, but reached down for the bowl and handed it back to the boy who peaked through from the doorway. Indra watched, but didn't let his eyes met hers. She wasn't a human, so he wouldn't look her in the eye. Why would he do such a thing?

"I'll leave you to it, Ibiki," Indra said, turning and leaving.

Sakura wanted to scream. He was an actor, but he was treating her (the DREAMER) like she was nothing more than cattle on his chopping block. That wasn't how things were supposed to go. Actors always cared for the dreamers. But Indra was being…more than just cold. He was letting her get hurt, putting her in painful situations, and denying her identity as a human being. He was hurting her and not caring about it. Ibiki too, he was an actors on account of how well she could see his scarred face, but he didn't look like he cared for her much either.

"When will these come off?" Sakura asked, holding out her wrists.

Ibiki ignored her, picking out dirt from underneath his fingernails. Sakura waited a moment and then opened her mouth to repeat herself, but Baki's hand caught her throat and pushed her down. His eyes were black steel and she wanted to run from them. She hated feeling so afraid, but she was still in shackles and there was nothing else she could do.

"You will tell me everything. I will rip apart your mind and know all your secrets, and you will be nothing. You are nothing. You have no name."

Sakura felt the sickly green chakra buzz around her neck and then it was in his other hand, and that hand was reaching for her eyes. She squirmed, trying to writhe free, but he was strong, stronger than her. He kept her from twisting away and the next thing that happened was his green chakra began to leak into her brain, scorching the eyes and making her blind for the rest of the interrogation.

Sakura screamed for hours.

She cried herself horse afterwards and then night fell.

Finally, the dream world snapped and Sakura was awake in her bed, clean and unharmed, but utterly broken. Sakura cried into her pillow, reaching out to rub her fingers over the raised places where her shackles dug into her skin.

* * *

Sakura almost didn't go to bed that next night. She could drink six cups of coffee and stay awake all through the night like she had once or twice. She knew how to, and she knew it was possible. She had motive and means, but the eleventh hour came and she hadn't started the pot, nor did she make any more to brew stimulants for herself.

Being the last week of February a snap cold spell colored her world in white overnight. If would snow occasionally, but it hadn't lasted until the end of the winter season when Jack Frost decided to make up for lost time and down then world in ice while Sakura dreamed about a man in scars pulling apart her mind until up was down and red was blue and sight was sound.

Sakura glanced down at her phone and flipped back and forth between the sets of text messages she was getting from Karin and Suigetsu. They were fighting again, but it was the petty sort of fighting they would always be caught up in. Those two were good together, they gave as good as they got with each other, and they were learning how to be better for the other. Still, that didn't mean Sakura didn't worry and monitor their ups and downs on her own. When Karin needed to talk Sakura was there, and even if it was Suigetsu who needed an ear to listen, Sakura was also there.

Ami said Sakura was officially #team always gives relationship advice but never is the one.

The phone refreshed but there were still no new messages and Sakura didn't doubt both parties were settling in. Karin worked early tomorrow and Suigetsu was taking the morning to see a dentist about his stupid teeth. The inactivity was normal, but for some reason it made Sakura's hands shake. Her friends were going to sleep, and soon she would be next.

"But I always wake up," she told herself out loud.

"You always what?"

Sakura turned to see Ami standing on the stairwell looking groggy. It was close to midnight.

"What are you doing up so late?" Sakura asked, redirecting. Sakura was sitting cross legged on the couch in front of the turned off television, so when she spoke she had to sit up and twist her body around to see Ami.

The smaller Asian girl yawned before coming down the last few steps. "I was thinking about talking to you about something."

"Oh?" Sakura shifted in her seat and moved to the corner so Ami could share the couch, pulling down the sleeves on her sweater to hide the marks on her wrists. Cold weather was good for something.

Ami had brought a blanket with her and it was one of the overly soft, fuzzy ones that were always more expensive than they were worth, but it didn't stop someone from spoiling their daughter for Christmas. "Yeah, but I don't know, I mean, it's just talking."

"I'm good at just talking," Sakura answered. She reached over and poked the exposed part of Ami's leg. "What is it?"

"My dad has a friend who teaches fashion photography at a university and there is a eight week program they can get me into in a few weeks."

Sakura felt her eyes widen. "Wow, someone is going places! A small, exclusive photography internship in Europe, what ever do you have to think over?"

"It's eight weeks though, and my French isn't great. I mean, sometimes it's better than my English, but French is like, hard. They're super picky and mean about it over there and I know I'll need it if I go. I don't know if I could do it. It sounds high class and I just run a blog."

"A nice blog with a high traffic count. What was the hit counter reading yesterday? Over a hundred thousand unique visitors in a week. That is nothing to sneeze at."

"People do better with video game vlogs."

"Video games are fun, but Ami, photography is what you want." Sakura scooted closer. "You're so lucky because you have a dream in your heart now and your dad is putting the tools you need straight into your hands. You don't have a reason to live with the regret if you choose not to go."

"I don't know if I'll do well."

"Maybe you won't, maybe you fail and end up hating photography, maybe you strike gold in the Grand Canyon. I don't know. No one can see the future."

"Sakura…" Ami whined, pouting at the thought of having to face reality.

"Listen, Ami, no one can tell you what will happen, but at least if it's in Europe you can come back and tell us anything and we'll believe you." When her friend didn't say anything more Sakura poked Ami again until the younger girl looked up. "Don't you want to try?"

"I don't want to leave my friends. I feel like you'll go somewhere without me if I leave."

Sakura smiled wistfully, looking around her house. It was the same as it seemed last year and maybe it would change this year, but Sakura doubted it. The world around her felt frozen. Ever since she entered the Obelisk dreams her life was put on hold and there were no signs of it starting up again with the way the last gate was treating her.

"I don't think I'll ever leave where I am here." Sakura forced herself to grin.

Ami pouted again. "You could at least say you'd miss me and find it unbearable without my presence. We've been roommates long enough that you should at least feel something about seeing me off. Oh, won't you just be devastated without me? Karin's too wrapped up in her boy and you still don't trust Ino. I feel like I can't leave you like this."

Sakura smile became a little easier to hold on her face as she thought about how close she and Ami had grown. It was true, they didn't start out as the closest of friends, but now they were better than that. A year of living together of roommates drew them closer, and the reality that Ami might actually leave Sakura alone made her want to reconsider her words.

Sakura reached out and poked her friend's nose, refusing to do anything but grin for Ami. "Don't worry about me. I want you to do what you know you need to. Don't live with your regrets. Go for it."

* * *

It was hard to describe what Ibiki did to Sakura. All she could think of were metaphors, but literally, he was using his own, unfettered chakra to invade her mind and see her thoughts and past. Sakura didn't know what he was seeing, but whatever it was made him frustrated enough to smack her back into the hey and storm out, only to coming back after a meal and try again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again...

* * *

AN: Get ready for the hurt train to run you of Gods is finally happening!  
More was supposed to happen in this second chapter, (I like the number count being high and it's a matter of pride when it comes to me) but I decided to stop it here.  
I'm no longer sick, but I'm super exhausted and tired and if I count up my work hours I'm probably working between 60 and 70 hours a week, including all the stuff on I do on the weekends. It's just draining, ya know. Where do these 40 hour work weeks come from?

But yeah, new characters, none of them what Sakura is used to. The dreamer is always loved and yet...here in this last world the actors don't seem drawn to her like others in the past. There's a lot you can endure as long as you have one person who loves you and cares about you helping you get through it all. At least, that's what I think.

I hope you enjoyed. Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 4 in the Obelisk series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kingdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:  
** **KINGDOM OF GODS**

 _Gladiator Boneyard_

* * *

It was hard to describe what Ibiki did to Sakura. All she could think of were metaphors, but literally, he was using his own, unfettered chakra to invade her mind and see her thoughts and past. Sakura didn't know what he was seeing, but whatever it was made him frustrated enough to smack her back into the hey and storm out, only to coming back after a meal and try again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again...

Sakura always screamed when he first pushed into her, tearing away her will, the part of her that resisted and pushed back against his intrusion. She was unaided without her chakra, and her resistance lasted a handful of heartbeats before it all came crashing down. It hurt in a way that was more than just physical. Yes, she felt pain like a migraine, but when he drew his chakra back, she felt weaker, diminished. Her anxiety and fear ate her alive.

"Why do you keep trying?" she once asked after his fifth attempt in the same day. She was exhausted and could hardly see straight. "You're not going to find what you're looking for."

She didn't know all the details of what he was attempting, but she knew enough to guess that her status as a dreamer had something to do with his inability to invade her mind like he would with the other actors. He would need to give up soon or keep her in the stables indefinitely because there as no way she would break now that she was beginning to believe she had the power to keep him out. With what little autonomy she had left, she would preserve what remained hers, including her thoughts and memories.

Ibiki raised a hand as if to stick her across the face with it, but grunted and turned away to pace at the opposite end of the room. It only took him a few strides before he calmed and approached her again. "There are always obstacles, but you can't resist forever."

"You can't keep trying forever either," Sakura coughed.

"No, but I can keep trying long enough." He stepped closer, near looming. "I will last longer than you."

And then he was back again in her brain, tilling it like a rocky field with sickles dug deep into the soil, overturning and piling mounds of her into neat little rows as he attempted to break through her barriers, to shatter the bedrock of her mind under all that tilling. It was a mess and Sakura cried every time a piece of her was overturned because it was a piece of her that hadn't meant to be overturned or touched or manipulated.

She wanted to push back, to rip her from her mind and dash him against the walls of the stables, but all she could manage was screams. Her throat cracked and broke at points, but she made a hell for his ears as best she could. Whatever he was looking for he wouldn't find it in her.

"That is enough."

Sakura fell limp into the hay. Ibiki turned to greet the new arrival and Sakura forced her eyes to open just enough for her to peek through her lashes. His hair was nicer, but combed down in front of half of his face. She searched her memory for the name and caught it. _Izumo_. This was the meaner of the two, the one who was angry at her for threatening his friend in a bid to earn their trust. Ironic, he would be the one interrupting her torture. She knew he didn't care for her or even about her, if his past actions were indicative of anything.

"She will need physical training as well as mental. You've had more than your share of time with her and now she's hardly worth the effort to pull out of the filth."

"You can have her once this is done."

"I didn't come here asking for your permission. I have my own orders to follow."

"Follow them tomorrow, or when I'm finished with her."

Izumo looked like the skin around his eyes was too taunt, but he kept his anger to a simmer just below the surface. He crossed his arms over his chest and shifted the weight of his body from one foot to the other in an effort to achieve a posture that said he didn't care what the scarred man said. "Were you able to see what sort of history she has? Do you know who here teachers have been, what her education has been, what her hands have killed? Surly you must know the beginning to those things. You've spent so much time together I would assume you know her wholly and completely by now." There was more than a little sarcasm in his tone.

"No matter what you might thing, what I do is delicate, requiring the upmost precision and patience. Don't seek to rush me."

"I'm not the only one here who you might think is being inconsiderate of your art, or have you forgotten that she needs physical prep for her fights? She wasn't bought for so much to sit around in the hey and play mind games with you." Izumo rolled his eyes. "We have other slaves for that."

Ibiki closed his eyes, looking resigned. "Is that an order?"

"It will be soon if I don't get what I want." Izumo glanced at Sakura and the sight of her made him grimace. "I should have started the day she first came back, but you've kept her too long and she's already exhausted."

"She's not to be taken out onto the property until I've approved her."

"Then approve her."

Ibiki looked like he wanted to bite his tongue. The unspoken exclamation of 'I can't' hung in the air between them and it made the scarred man all the more unsettled. If there was friendship between the two of them (and Sakura doubted there was) it was all but gone now. Ibiki had murder in his eyes as he turned away and stormed out.

"I'll take that as an okay," Izumo muttered under his breath to himself before turning towards her.

Absently he brushed aside the heavy bangs that fell in front of his right eye and Sakura caught a glimpse of the scar that ran over his lid at a crooked angle. Sakura looked away when his eyes landed on her face, but if he minded that she saw it wasn't apparent.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, catching her breath sharply when he tugged on her chains and the sore parts of her wrists throbbed. It would be days before the evidence of her shackles healed enough for short sleeves. Good thing it was cold when she woke up.

"Get up and walk,"Izumo he barked, not paying her question any heed. He sounded bored of her, actually.

Sakura wanted to fight him, she wanted to dig in her heels and snarl like the junkyard dogs she's seen before. Her arms tensed, bunching up and getting ready to pull back, but Sakura hushed her raging spirit and fought down her impulses. She wasn't going to run, no matter how much she was tempted to fight for her freedom. There would be a time to fight, but it wasn't now.

Izumo led her out of the stables and out across a long stretch of mostly open land before they came upon a well dug into the ground and surrounded by marble stone cut straight from a quarry not too far from the property. Izumo dropped her chain in order to pull up the rope that was attached to a bucket. Once at the top he unhooked the odd looking container and poured the water into a clay pot that was set aside the mound of marble. Done, he replaced the bucket on the rope and let it fall the rest of the way down.

"You'll carry your own water. Spill it and you'll have to go the day without it."

Izumo stepped away from the well and didn't touch a thing more, leaving her chain on the ground in the dust as well as the clay jug of water. When he kept moving Sakura took that as her cue to follow and scrambled to take up the job and carry what was left of her dragging chain.

When Sakura looked over her back the stable was small in the distance and her feet weren't heavy, but she could feel the phantom sensation of weariness. They had been walking quite a while when the path dipped down and the dust cleared away enough for Sakura to see the pit dug out and built up.

"Don't get too excited, this is just the training grounds." He walked ahead and then stopped, sand settling around his still feed in subtle mounds. "You'll need to prove yourself here before we start using you."

"You don't think I can fight?" Sakura bit out, setting her bot down, but not before taking a taste of the water. It was cool and a treat to her sore throat, but she was in the dream world and that meant she had no true need for water or food. Still, she didn't need to let them know that.

"Any animal afraid of dying can surprise the world. What can you actually do?" he asked, turning suddenly and throwing a small knife at the clay pot still in her hands. Water and pottery gushed over her wrists as the piece burst between her fingers and stopped the knife from hitting her chest.

Sakura jumped back, knowing there was no cover, there wasn't supposed to be. Arenas where men and women fought to the death weren't supposed to be areas where you could find an advantage in the terrain or use your head. No, people wanted contact and blood and death. There was no where she could run from it.

Izumo was someone close to Indra and Sakura knew why. Sakura threw out her senses as best she could with the chakra shackles still limiting her abilities. She wanted to weigh the world down and drag it all into slow motion so she could see the hands that were reaching for her face, but she couldn't do much other than try her best to stay ahead of the jabs.

She missed one strike and his hand made it to her neck with a python's finesse. She choked, feeling herself being lifted off the ground as he flexed his hand and made bruises in her skin. Sakura gasped, feeling her eyes bulge and her legs kick. There was nothing she could do here. He had her in one of the worst possible ways.

"Not so fun, is it?" he asked in a dry tone before he let her go to fall into a heap at his feet, kicking up sand and dust that choked her nose and mouth. Sakura gasped, lungs screaming as new air rushed in.

"I don't think you are worth what he paid for you. You were lucky and you were sneaky. You will not be worth the time to lift my eyelids when I see you fight."

"You…" Sakura could hardly form words. It all hurt and she wanted to cry for a friendly face.

He shifted and Sakura felt it in the hairs on her arm before she actually saw the movement. She reacted quickly, thinking she was dodging a sword at first, but the hand that passed over her head was nothing more than flesh. She wasn't training with Kisame again, but it felt similar. He had taught her how to dodge and duck almost as well as Tsunade had. Unlike Tsunade, Kisame and Sakura spent months together. What her brain didn't remember, her body did.

Sakura felt the bruises on her neck and used every part of her body to move and dodge so there wouldn't be any more marks when she woke up.

'Scarf. I can hide it with a scarf.'

Sakura caught his fist in the worst way; with her chest. The wind left her lungs and she was sent backwards only to land up in a heap of tangled limbs on the ground.

"If I had been holding a knife you would have been dead."

"That wouldn't have been fair," Sakura spit, knowing the words were wasted air. Nothing in the curse world was fair.

"Depending on how much your sponsor or owner likes you, the matches will never be fair. Sometimes there are weapons, sometimes there are not." Izumo stalked closer to her but stopped an arm's reach away. "Sometimes a man goes in with nothing but a cloth for his dignity while his opponent glistens in armor. It's all for a good show, nothing more."

Sakura looked up slowly and Izumo smirked at the fear he must have read in her expression.

"Are you going to ask how much our dear lord likes you?" Izumo knelt down and the smile on his face made Sakura want to turn and run. Her stomach was sick when he spoke. "Not enough to make it easy for you. His brother might have, if he had been the one to pick you out, but… ah it's never fair."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you better get better about fighting barehanded against a man with a knife. You don't want to die just yet, do you?"

Sakura wanted to snarl and bite into the man's neck with her teeth. "Take off these shackles and I'll show you what you want out of me."

"I can't, rules are rules. If you weren't shackled you would be too dangerous to keep alive."

Sakura snarled, feeling the anger make an ember in her chest she could hold onto. She was all sharp angles and wide strokes. Fueled with a desire to strike that smirk from his face, she refused to relent as she pressed the advantage. She was too wild and just fast enough that he began to retreat, likely counting on her to get tired so he could take advantage of when she faltered. In the dream and in her shackles there were a lot of things Sakura wasn't good at, but one of them wasn't her endurance, and she knew how to play to that.

It didn't take much longer before she started to see the worry bloom in the other man's eyes. She was too wild and too loud with her screams for her to go much longer, but she didn't stop, didn't falter, didn't let up, didn't give him an opening. Who would exhaust first? Him from dodging and blocking, or her from striking and screaming.

His frustration started to show and he made a move that she took advantage of and twisted into, bringing her leg up between them to kick him back. All that work and all she got was one kick in, but boy was it worth it. He tumbled over himself, dust rising in a cloud where he landed and struggled to his feet. She could see through the sand cloud his glare for her.

"Excellent stamina," a new voice said.

Sakura looked over her shoulder to see the other boy, the one with the wild hair at the edge of the ring walking towards them. He was smiling.

"Kotetsu, I thought you were elsewhere. You said you were too busy to help."

"You didn't say what you needed help with. I heard that she hadn't been cleared yet. What are the two of you doing out here?" Kotetsu asked, looking between the two of them easily.

Izumo snapped. "What does it look like, you fool?"

"It looks like she's going to kick your but. You better pray those shackles never come off."

Both boys looked to the shackles on her wrists and the long chain that connected them. Sakura tugged on them, making the links taunt between her wrists. The action almost made Izumo shiver, but she might have just imagined it. She wanted to believe he could be afraid of her.

"So, when can we start making money over here. Will she be well enough in two days?" Kotetsu asked, almost grinning at Sakura while he talked to the other man.

"Not for the Gladiator Boneyard."

"Eh? Why not?"

"She cost too much to die in her first match. We'll wait the month for the official run in the coliseum. They don't fight to the death there as long as that child is emperor. It's too sad a show to put your best fighters forward for."

"I don't know…" Kotetsu turned to Sakura and addressed her for the first time. "Have you ever killed a man before you became a slave? You can do it, but will you?"

"That doesn't sound like much fun, but do I really have a choice?" Sakura asked, feeling her stomach roll in the uneasy way that reminded her of what it felt like to look down into a pit.

She had killed, yes, she had done so before in the dream world, but it never felt real until she started to think about it. Sai had't been a true death, right? The faceless foes she had cut down, the monsters and beasts and wolves all were things she killed, and even some faceless dream appertains.

' _You've become such a dirty thing. Remember when you didn't even take Orochimaru's life for killing Sasori. Now look at yourself. What a mess_.'

Sakura wanted to shrink from the voice in her head. She felt bad for what she had done, but more than that, she felt bad for not feeling as bad about it as she should have. It barely phased her when she thought about what she did with her hands. Killing was second nature to her by now. If she was ever going to be free of the dream curse, she would have to dye her hands with even more red between now and then.

"Let me fight someone," she said, looking up at the two boys while mentally pushing down the guilt and repulsion. "I don't care, but I said I would, so let me keep my promise."

It was Izumo who said something back. "You're a slave, you don't need to keep promises, you do as you are told."

"Nah, don't be so hard on the girl. Why don't we try the boneyard in a few days? Work her up in time and teach her what she needs. She won't let us down if she fights like she just did."

"She's not a competent killer."

"Ten wasn't either until Ashura took her on, but look at her now. No one would have guessed such a scrawny little girl might grow up to be a weapon's mistress."

Izumo rolled his eyes, or at least only the one that was visible before shaking his head. "Yeah, but don't forget how much that pissed Indra off, having to give her to his brother." Izumo stalked closer to Sakura, stopping a foot away. "There's no way he will give this one up as well. No, she'll die first before he lets his pride take the fall and there is nothing Ashura can do this time."

Kotetsu hummed, looking over at Sakura as well. She hated how they were talking about her like she wasn't even there, but to them she was nothing more than livestock, a thing to be bought and traded. They could talk over her all they wanted, there was nothing she could do about it.

Kotetsu at least looked at her and smiled. "How about you feed her and let her bathe or something. She's been out here a while and for her first exercise you shouldn't overdo it. Bring her out again in the morning."

"Ibiki will need her after this. There's no use getting her cleaned off." When he saw Sakura flinch he frowned and averted his eyes, almost as if he cared that he was forcing her to do something she didn't want to do. Almost.

But if there was regret or hesitation there in the man, it wasn't enough to keep her from taking her back to the man with scars all over his face after he had trained her long and hard out in the ring. Ibiki didn't look any happier to see her than she did, but he didn't waste any time before splitting her mind apart with his ability.

Sakura screamed until the light was gone out of the world around her and the day was done. She fell back into the hay and thought that would be the end of it, but the dream didn't end this time either. When she looked up Ibiki was still there, eating food from a plate before glaring at the way she watched him. A minute later he took his things and left her locked up, likely assuming she would fall asleep again, but there was no dream in the dream world. She couldn't wake up either.

The curse was doing funny things to her again, lasting longer than it should. Sakura tried to force herself awake, afraid that she was sleeping longer than she should, but nothing worked. Her chakra was gone, and her senses were dull as could be. There was nothing she could do and that was almost as bad as the way Ibiki tore into her mind only to find nothing.

There were voices in the hallways around her stall and Sakura stilled in her bed, pretending to be asleep as a light drew closer and the voices became louder. Someone stopped at her door and may have they peaked in but one of the voices huffed in agitation and said 'come on' before the light eventually faded. Sakura couldn't be sure, but she almost thought she heard laughter too, the quiet kind people liked to hide behind their hands.

She sat up after the light and voices both faded to stare through the cracks and watch the shadows move out across the opening to the field she had been using to practice in earlier that day. Sakura tried the door and found it locked. Ibiki was always vigilant about that when he left. The first two bolts she could never reach were always secured and the third one she could reach was still in place. Even if she undid that one…

Feeling stupid Sakura slipped her fingers as far as they could go and caught the metal with her nail, pulling it up and to the side. The whole door heaved as it swung open, the other bolts undone from whoever had held the light earlier.

"That's not suspicious at all," Sakura huffed, looking out at the light that was almost gone from her view. Was it really worth it to chase after a pair of people who could be anyone?

It was a silly questions and she was already running out to meet them. Madness would eat her alive if she didn't move and do something. She only hoped that wasn't the whole point to the curse. If she knew it was a trap would she have still left the stables? Of course she would have. She needed to keep moving forward. There was no way she gave up a life of luxury with Madara to stay stuck in a dusty hay bed. She could have been happy, but it wasn't right so she forced herself to keep moving.

The training pit was close and she slowed down, making herself quiet as she approached. It was still night and no one would be able to see her if she stayed still, but she could be plenty loud, so she made sure she did her best to go unseen. Approaching the edge Sakura looked down and frowned when she saw a lantern in the dust, but no figure to hold it. There were footprints though, leading away from it in two directions. One pair was smaller than the other and she guessed they belonged to a woman.

Sakura crept down and stopped at the edge of the glow, hesitating before heading off towards the man's footprints.

The moment she stepped into the light the air around her changed and she felt chakra in it. Sakura sucked in a breath and dodged, moving before thinking. Someone's leg passed over her head and Sakura rolled into the body and leaving it before she could get caught in a grappling match. She was still in chains and didn't want that used against her.

It was a girl, she was barely modest and the swell of her breasts were clear as she righted herself. Loose brown hair fell back over her shoulders and Sakura blinked, recognizing the face. Tenten was an actor here and dressed like something from a 1980's Connan the Barbarian or He-man comic. Tenten winked at Sakura before kicking up more dirt and Sakura jumped back, seeing metal on her boots.

The two engaged and Sakura knew she was woefully inadequate to challenge the girl when she was set off and still shackles. Sakura was doing a good job of holding her own, but she didn't see how she could close the distance when her opponent had an unending supply of slender needles to shoot from the safety of the lantern's glow.

Tenten reached for something behind her and then Sakura saw the long steel face of a shorthanded battle ax. Tenten grinned with mirth in her eyes, making them glow, before she lunged with a wild swing. Sakura swore, knowing she was useless without a weapon of her own, and what she had been told before was repeating again and again in her head.

 _Depending on how much your sponsor or owner likes you, the matches will never be fair. Sometimes there are weapons, sometimes there are not. Sometimes a man goes in with nothing but a cloth for his dignity while his opponent glistens in armor_.

Is this what it would be like for her in the matches? This wasn't fair, this really wasn't fair considering how good Tenten was with the ax. She held it like a pro so that when she moved her blade was an extension of her body. It was like how Sakura had tried to be with the sword during the time Kisame taught her. But Sakura didn't have a sword and Kisame wasn't here anymore to tell he what she could do. If he was, what would he say. It was hopeless.

'Use what you have, kid.'

Tenten was too close and Sakura held up her chains, a taunt barrier to catch her swing. The blade came down fast and the links shattered under the impact. Sakura felt something in her snap and then she surged forward, faster than before. Tenten tried to right herself in time, but Sakura could touch her chakra and was using it to move her in flash steps to stand behind the other girl. Sakura's hand came down hard on the back of Tenten's head and the girl went down.

There was recoil in Sakura's body and she shivered, backing up as the feeling of chakra was gone. The link between her shackles was severed, but the shackles were still on her wrist and those were the things that truly held her powers at bay. There was, however, now a crack in the barrier and Sakura could feel her chakra leaking through. It wasn't everything, but it was something. It was a fighting chance.

Sakura circled Tenten and kicked the ax away, keeping her own fists up and ready to strike.

"That's just terrible. It wasn't even five minutes."

Sakura flinched but didn't turn fully, only angled her body so she might keep Tenten in sight while she also saw the other figure come down into the light's ring. He looked too much like her own master to be anyone else.

"Are you the brother?" Sakura asked, trying to remember the name Kotetsu and Izumo had used.

"Oh my, you already know of me. I'm flattered," he laughed, looking like he didn't care that his slave was face down in the dirt with Sakura in striking zone, looking ready to kill. "I am Ashura. We're happy to meet you."

"We?" Sakura winced.

"Ah, well maybe Ten might not be so happy, but she will be once she wakes up. You did well. My brother has excellent taste. He was so lucky this time. I'm jealous all over again."

"What do you want?" Sakura snapped, not feeling like she was in control of anything anymore. The high of having won against Tenten was fading fast.

"Oh, you're not dumb either. Does my brother truly not know what he picked up? Such a shame to keep you all to himself. He should learn to share a little bit more," Ashura said with a wide smile that seemed almost honest. He was dressed simply in a long white tunic, but the dark purple cloth around his arms was expensive enough to mark him as important.

"You're not going to answer my question? What is it you want?" Sakura wanted her chakra back.

Ashura's smile was so disarming. He looked at her and Sakura felt a little ashamed of keeping her fists up. He just kept smiling at her and it was the last thing she expected until Tenten started to stir. Sakura backtracked another handful of steps and created distance.

"Imma kmph eeer…" she groaned.

Ashura laughed while Sakura tensed. "Don't become overeager my dear. It's you own fault for underestimating her. You were even flirting, I saw you."

"Master!" Ten cried, cheeks flushing. She glanced over at Sakura before climbing to her feet and collecting her weapons without another word.

Ashura just kept watching Sakura, his smile still in place. "Ah, I think I was going to answer your question from before. You wanted to know what it was I wanted, yes?" When she nodded he went on. "I want you to fight for me, just like Ten did. You'll be my champion instead of my brother's."

"What are you doing asking me that, I'm a slave, remember?" Sakura bit. She wanted to scream the words, she hated them so much.

"Ah, but you're also a creature of great power. You could just kill my brother if you wanted freedom. I would trust you to come back to me if you gave me your word."

' _Kill_.'

"What? What are you talking about? He's your brother. Why would you ask me to kill him?"

Ashura laughed again and Sakura felt like she needed to sit down. "Poor child doesn't know a thing. Everyone else knows we hate each other and this wouldn't be the first time one of us tried to kill the other, and gods knows this won't be the last time if I am unlucky."

"-No." Her voice was a hissing adder in the air between them.

It was the first time she saw his smile falter. He didn't look upset or angry, though. Ashura just watched her more closely, studying her even more. "There is something you want. Those shackles off. I'll take them off and you'll be powerful again. You can kill him."

"I said _no_."

"You don't want those shackles off?" He looked like he wanted to pity her. "He'll never do that for you. If you don't take my offer now you'll be in shackles for the rest of your life. You'll be in pain every day, you'll be beat and hurt and cursed for as long as you survive his pride. He wont' protect you in the ring."

"Yeah, I guessed as much, but I don't like the idea of killing in such a way. Maybe one day I might but I did say I wouldn't make trouble if they took my shackles off. I'm going to do the stupid thing and try to keep my word. I don't see him as my master, no one is my master, but I'll follow him for now." Where else would she find the Obelisk than with his help?

"Indra doesn't know the value of what he has."

"So says you, brother."

Sakura went stiff at the sound of the new voice. Ten was a pillar of stone from behind Ashura as the new body stepped into the light. Sakura held her breath as her slave owner took a stand behind her. Indra looked down at her and reached out to grab a fistful of her hair. He glanced sideways at his brother before bending down and kissing Sakura on the mouth. She felt her body go limp and burst into fire and freeze all at once. His other hand pulled at her hip, bringing her closer before he pulled away and let her stagger agains his chest.

"You didn't have to be so dramatic about it," Ashura huffed.

"And what if that was something I've been wanting to do?"

Ashura looked put out as he looked off and pouted. "It wasn't."

Indra looked down at Sakura and then released her. She stumbled backwards a few steps before finding her balance again. Her eyes were wide as he watched her. "At least now I know I can trust her not to kill me in my sleep for so petty a reason, but that's only the first step in graduating out of the shackles."

"You're welcome for that," Ashura huffed, beginning to turn away. "Come on Ten, brother wants a moment alone to tease his cute little slave. You'll have to wait for the morning to flirt with her again.

Sakura didn't see them go, she was staring up at the dark haired general in front of her. He was watching her, but she didn't recognize affection like she had before in other actors. His kiss had been something to throw her off, there was no emotion in it. This actor didn't like her like the others had.

"What is it you want…other than your shackles free?" he asked her after a minute.

Sakura wrested with an answer in her head before saying anything. "To win."

Her answer seemed to surprise him. Both his brows rose and the weight of his body shifted from one leg to the other. "Is that so? That is your honest desire, not even to survive, but to win."

"Why shouldn't it be? I've always had to fight in this stupid world and the ones before it. I'll always be fighting."

"…Is there a weapon you favor?"

Sakura grinned, thinking of her bone handle sword. "Take off my cuffs and I'll show you."

He glared at her and the look might as well have said ' _do you think I am stupid_ ' or something like that.

"Gods know what you might summon, I will not." When she grimaced he didn't relent. "You did well enough without a weapon. Back to the stables. I'll tell Ibiki not to bother with trying to know your mind. You will only focus on training your physical body."

When she didn't say anything right away or move he leaned in, almost looming over her. "Unless there is something else you would like to do; warm my bed?"

Sakura scowled, taking a step back. "I'm a fighter, nothing more or less."

Indra looked like he didn't care one way or the other as he turned from her and left the circle of light to walk back to wherever he had come from in the dark. He didn't call out to her and she didn't follow. When she got back to the stables she left the doors open and waited for the dream to end, but only morning came.

Another day passed with her training in the pits, running, lifting, sparing. Day turned to evening and between Kotetsu and Izumo she was nearly spent by the time she made it back to the stables. They told her tomorrow she would fight in her first match, but when she hit the hay the straw was cotton and her floor was a mattress and she was back in her room, waking up again after two days in the dream.

* * *

Sakura watched Ami's plane take off through the glass and sagged a bit, until her forehead was pressed against the cold surface. This was for her good. This would be what she needed. Going off to Europe to study on her father's money from a world renowned expert would be a dream to anyone, and so Sakura couldn't bring herself to feel resentment towards Ami for taking the offer.

Still

Sakura watched the heavy bodies of metal sail through the air to grow small and smaller until winking out of sight. There was a new one every few minutes. Who else was in the air flying to a new dream?

Another twinge of pain made Sakura grimace and she recognized the jealousy she tried to hold herself above. She adored Ami and wanted the best for her friend. Sakura didn't like the idea of being jealous of her friend for having such an amazing opportunity fall into her lap without any true effort. Ami was her friend. Sakura didn't want to be jealous of her friends. Sakura didn't want to be jealous at all.

But she was.

Sakura pulled herself away from the window and made her way out of the terminal back to the elevators that would take her to the pick up area. She had a few minutes before Ino would be there to pick her up, so she let her steps sag a bit, not caring that her pace was pitiful for such a busy airport.

What time was it? Sakura checked her phone again and groaned, realizing it was later than it actually was. She thought she would have more time. From Ami's plane took off it would take Ino an hour to meet Sakura at the drop off/pick up area. Had Sakura really been standing in front of that stupid window for forty five minutes? It hadn't felt like more than five.

Sakura checked her phone again, thinking she might have misread it, and did the math, only to curse when she realized she now only had five minutes to get to the other end of the airport. She had spaced out again and wasted time.

Breathing heavily, Sakura took the stairs down two at a time, trying not to look like she wanted to run the rest of the way like a madwoman because that's how she felt in her head. In her mind she was a slave in a dust pit tearing through the sand colored clouds with nothing but shackles to hold her back.

"SAKURA!" Ino's call was obnoxiously loud, but she didn't seem embarrassed about it.

Sakura sprinted the rest of the way and hopped into the blond's passenger side door. Ino looked like she wanted to hug or something but Sakura just waved her off. "There are people behind us, let's go!"

If she was put out or slighted Ino didn't let it slip in her expression. She pulled out easily and made herself a force to be reckoned with as she drove them out of the airport without mercy for all the other poor souls who wanted to merge into her lane. Ino drove the way she walked, with her chin high and her sights narrowed.

"I'm so glad you asked me this favor. I've been meaning to get together with you since I got back from Florida," Ino began after crossing the bridge onto lighter traffic.

"Is that so?" Sakura hadn't know Ino had been in Florida, only that she had been away for a while. Ino was like that. Work took her away at the drop of a hat to all these different places for a night or a weekend, and then she was back like nothing ever happened. It would kill her, financially, for Sakura to go away with Ami and her rent being no longer in the picture.

"Yeah." Ino nodded as she merged without her blinker. "I got another part time gig working at the modeling office in the city so I'll be around more often and working here, so like, it's sort of sustainable. I'm thinking of settling down for a year or two and wanted to know if you were interested."

"Interested? In what?"

"Us," Ino answer in a chirp, her whole face looked like a smile. "We can room together again. Wouldn't that be great. You could walk to the college and it would be just like what we talked about in high school."

Sakura shut her eyes and turned her face away. "I'm not going to college right now, Ino."

"Oh, yeah, I guess you're not, but you could if you were closer, so what about in the fall?"

"No, I'm not-" Sakura bit her lip and caught herself. "Right now I need to focus on working and making money. I couldn't possibly make it work with what I have now. And my head's not in the right space for school. I don't know if that's even for me anymore."

"How are you going to be a doctor with an attitude like that?" Ino laughed and Sakura wanted to choke. Ino meant to tease her friend, but all Sakura saw was sand for miles as a pair of shackles led her into an abyss of white. Sakura gripped the fabric of her seatbelt and twisted it in her hands, trying to recognize the feel of it, but her fingertips were numb.

Her mind was hot and arid as Sakura struggled to form her own thoughts in a windstorm of sparkling grain.

'What is true? I'm in the car with Ino. I'm in the passenger's seat. The sun is out. There are no clouds in the sky. It is 72 degrees outside, according to her car dash. I'm wearing converse sneakers. The air freshner is sand-sand-sand-vanilla!'

Sakura coughed and bent over to hack out the breath she had skipped over. Ino made a noise of concern and Sakura fixated on it, feeling like she might fly away if she didn't.

"These damn roads," Ino hissed. "I have water in the cupholder there." Ino pointed to a tumbler with lime and lemon slices floating across the top.

Sakura took a sip and placed it back before the blond could say anything else. "I just swallowed my breath wrong," Sakura lied, rolling her shoulders in an easy fashion. Her teeshirt was loose cotton that couldn't stay on both her shoulders at once, her left shoulder was the one left exposed now.

"But…yeah, it's fine if you don't want to go to the school or anything, but you could still work with me in the city and you wouldn't have to pay rent. Minimum wage jobs pay so much more in the city, you know. Plus, you're so smart I know I could get you into the editing team somewhere. And it, like I have a lot of room to myself, so you would be doing me a favor."

"I already have a job here. I would have to leave it behind without knowing if anything new would be better."

"It would be, I just know it would be!"

Sakura frowned, unable to see the upside to Ino's suggestion. It wouldn't be wise for Sakura to make any sudden moves, especially now with the dream world taking such a heavy toll on her. The Kingdom of Gods was nothing like the Kingdom of Monsters. The dreams lasted for days and she woke feeling older and more worn out than ever before.

"I'll think about it," Sakura finally said, knowing that telling Ino no would not be smart. Ino would just go on to try and make her offer seem better and better, but Sakura knew that Ino wasn't a miracle worker, and there was nothing Ino could do to make the nightmares and less real or her waking world any better.

* * *

AN: So I really want to know how Indra came across to you guys? Do you think he his truly indifferent to Sakura and doesn't care if she dies, or do you think that as an actor he is starting to turn towards her in a more positive way? I know what I think and I know what I have planned, but I'm hoping it will come across as a surprise.

For now it's still mostly just the plot of the curse and a hint of something else. She's progressively spending more and more of her time in the dream world. When she sleeps, her dreams are longer. Typically they were only a day long (sometimes less), but the deeper she goes, the longer the curse lasts.

Next time, Sakura enters the Boneyard and things turn red.

I hope you enjoyed. Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

Gladiator Boneyard

* * *

The shackles still chaffed. It was getting harder to hide the marks on her wrist when she woke up. They healed a little bit, but they were still angry red rings and winter doesn't last forever. She could hide with long sleeves now, but in a few weeks it would start to warm up.

Tax season was mad of course, but Sakura could feel how close April was drawing and soon there would be a break she could fall into. She was doubling up on so many days, mostly because it helped her avoid people and conversations she didn't want to have. People knew well enough to leave her alone when she was typing and working and quietly swearing to herself about how slow people were about getting the information she needed to complete a transaction.

The second she push her chair away from her desk or step out for a break, someone would be there to ask if she was okay or if she had enough sleep. Even people she never talked to had begun asking her if she needed some extra coffee. Sakura got good at lying real fast.

'My friend just left and her goodbye party was last night.'

'I've been house sitting for my friend out in the suburbs but her dog doesn't like me enough to let me sleep anywhere but on the couch.'

'These spring allergies are kicking my butt. Ugh, I don't want to have to take another Claraden so soon.'

'I haven't had my coffee yet, the machine broke at my house and I don't know how to fix anything more complex than a paperclip.'

A little but of truth mixed into the lies made them fall easier from her lips. She said other things too, but only enough to keep people at a distance. She didn't want to talk to anyone, she wanted to never have to open her mouth again. People around her, adults, workers, employees on payroll with lives to pick up once they clocked out, none of them would understand anything about her so it wasn't worth the wasted oxygen.

Sakura glanced over at her phone when the screen lit up. It was Ino again. Another invitation. At least Ino didn't pry further than Sakura was comfortable with. Sakura knew how to get around Ino's questions, and she knew what Ino wanted. She wanted to feel forgiven, to feel justified, to feel like a good person again. She was naturally predisposed to bouts of self righteousness, but her layers of pride fell away like wet paper alongside Sakura.

Sakura wondered if Ino saw their friendship as anything more than a means to an end, with that end being Ino's loss of guilt.

"What happened to your wrist?" Sakura froze, then looked up and let her breath ease out of her.

"It's old," Sakura commented, looking away from Genma. She didn't pretend to hide it or make anything out of it. He wouldn't press it. And if he did, Sakura didn't mind being harsh.

"It looks like a burn or something. What did you do?"

"Curling iron."

"You curl your hair?"

Sakura glared, but didn't put much energy into it. "Do you want a paycheck this week? Because I'm in your payroll right now and it would be so easy to not do my job."

Genma huffed, pushing off from the wall and pulling out a filled banker box to sit on. "I'm only saying what I think and everybody thinks."

"I don't give a rat's ass how many people think or ask what you think." Sakura went back to the keys and flew through the memorized processes faster than before.

"…Did something happen with that guy you were seeing back in December? You were really happy and it was almost painful to watch, but now you look like death warmed over."

"It's really none of your business."

"I'm too rude to not make it my business and Yamamato is being a dick about it." Genma toed the empty box left by Sakura's desk before pushing it towards her. She kicked it away when it got close and he watched how her legs reacted. She felt like a cornered rabbit. "He keeps agonizing over how he can't eve talk to you about it cause he's afraid you'll be upset."

"I _am_ upset."

"Which is why I'm the one asking."

Sakura paused, sparing him a second of thought before turning back to the screen and finishing up the payroll. She clicked out and began to shut down. When he heard the familiar sign off sound Genma stood, blocking her path. It was enough to make Sakura recoil and forget she wasn't in the dream anymore. Her body fell back into a crouch with hands up and ready to swing or swipe before she remembered where she was.

 _Danger_. She was in danger, but not because of the curse.

Genma was staring at her hard now.

Cursing, Sakura turned away and tried to play off her reaction. She picked up her bag and the empty thirst buster cup from the gas station that had been filled with sugar and ice only hours ago, now sucked dry. She couldn't remember the last time she ate anything good for her, but she drank enough liquids so she wasn't worried about dehydrating.

"Is he hitting you?"

Sakura picked up her keys from where she kept them in the dish by the door. Genma didn't move to her again, but his eyes followed her out, and tracked her when she didn't say anything in response.

She made it to her car without a word. Sliding in she saw him watching her from the open doorway, keeping her in his sights until she pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road leading away. Even on the drive home there was no reason for sound, no reason for her voice, so she never uttered a word. When she got home the house was as empty as her stomach, greeting her with silence and the occasional groan from the almost spring breeze. There was nowhere for her voice to go, so she kept it locked in her throat until night crept in.

Sakura pulled out her phone and set her alarm before dressing for bed.

The last few times she had dreamed she had spent what seemed like days in the dreamworld, but when she woke up, it was still the next morning. She could go to sleep and dream for half a week, but when she woke up the world told her she had only been in her bed for seven hours, maybe less.

What would that do to her long term? Would it mess with her aging? Would it get worst? What if she spent weeks and weeks inside the dream before waking? Would she forget what happened the day before in the waking world? How would she be able to function if it ever got worse? What of instead of weeks it was months, or years?

Sakura set her alarm an extra hour earlier and laid down for the night, praying into her bed sheets with genuine honesty and fear for the first time in a long time.

* * *

They worked her a bit in the morning, and then the two trainers took her to the pools where a pair of girl slaves in maid smocks washed her and dressed her for the night, braiding her hair in tiny coils as best they could with what little she gave them to work with. She smelled fine when she emerged from the pools, but she doubted that would last for long. The fights were beginning soon and she would have to sweat if she wanted to survive.

They didn't reconnect the links between her shackles and she could feel the cracks in their binding where her chakra could seep though and give her the taste of power, but nothing else. It wasn't enough to use chakra for anything other than minor things. If she was careful, she might find some way to use it, but she couldn't think of anything.

"Oh."

Sakura looked over her shoulder and saw the girl from the day before yesterday, her name was only Ten here. But Sakura remembered Tenten from before and couldn't help but grin. It was better than all the new, mean and unfamiliar faces she found her self surrounded with.

"You did that on purpose," Tenten bit out, keeping her back to Sakura and refusing to turn around.

Sakura looked down and remembered she had been in the process of pulling up her dress from where it bunched around her waist in folds. She was still wearing wrapping around her chest, but they were thin and tight and she wouldn't want to walk out looking so undressed. Hesitantly, Sakura pulled up the sides of her dress and slid her arms in before tying up the front. It was crude and looked like the leftover scraps of something else.

"Sorry about that. I didn't think someone would be walking by."

"Well I was!"

Sakura frowned at her angry tone. "Sorry. It won't happen again."

"If I had been someone else you would have been in trouble."

Sakura shrugged, reaching up behind her neck and rubbing a knot underneath the skin. It was nice to be able to reach behind her now that the links between her shackles were broken. It was almost as nice as the trickle of chakra she could pull at. "I think I can handle myself just fine if I could take on you and live." When she looked back over her shoulder she saw Tenten had turned around and was watching her with a look she couldn't decider. It almost seemed like a cross between hurt and…something else.

"I was going easy on you. He told me not to be lethal."

Sakura didn't wait for Ten to say anything more on the subject. She turned around fully and closed the distance between them. "So, am I fighting you at full strength today or are you not even on the menu?"

Tenten almost sneered, but Sakura couldn't help but think she looked cute in her efforts to appear intimidating. Ten was young in this world, still a teenager. Regardless, she was younger than Sakura. _When had Sakura become something older than a teenager?_ She still felt so young inside.

"I-I'm fighting someone else today. You'll be paired up with only one other fighter on the first day. The-they told me to tell you this much. It'll be three days worth of fights. They do that on purpose to drag it out and get the most out of the people's money."

Sakura shrugged. "Makes sense."

"Well, it'll be three or four days of fights. They say three, but sometimes if it looks really impressive they save the championship fight for a fourth day. I'm fighting, but I'm on the other side of the chart, so we won't meet until later on, if at all."

"Do you know who I will be fighting?"

Ten scrunched up her nose. "Another slave, a man, he's old and has a lot of scars, but no one cares to know his name. I don't think you'll have much trouble with how you were able to counter me. He might be starting you off easy on purpose, because you're new and he needs to build interest. Half the battle is won in the betting stands, you know."

"That's how things typically go."

Ten nodded, glancing upwards at the young sun in the sky. It was climbing steadily. Soon it would be high enough to peer over the edge of the stands surrounding the Gladiator's Boneyard. Each patron had a tent or space reserved for them apart from the mock coliseum, but by the noise of it, most of them were already in their stands. Sakura's master and her brother were no where to be seen, so Sakura guessed that's where they were.

"Fine. Yeah. I-I'll come back after I win my match to see if there's anything else you need help with. I'm pretty early on the chart," Ten said.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready in the contestant's pen?" Sakura asked, nodding to the tunnel that led down to the waiting areas for the fighters.

"Yeah, but you should come for that part to. Even if you're not fighting, you should watch the matches. Some of them-no, it's just better to see for yourself how these guys fight. I don't know what kind of place you came from before, if people fought with honor or decency, but this isn't like that. You should see for yourself."

"I already know they'll play dirty."

"Yeah, but one of those winners will be your opponent, so it's better you see and know how he cheats." Ten started to turn but paused. She eyed Sakura wearily. "You'll come, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, right behind you."

* * *

Ten spoke the truth when she said she would win her match, and Sakura knew why. The girl Sakura had bested that night in the pits was nowhere to be found in the Boneyard. Ten was cruel and fast and little else. Her opponent had been young for most of the males, but that did him few favors as he still wasn't fast enough to track her movements or catch her swipes.

They dragged the body off the field in time for the next match that hardly lasted any longer. Sakura saw a pattern of easily identified weakling against powerhouses in the next four matches. Even if it wasn't easy to see who was the favorite at first, as soon as they started moving, the difference became clear.

"Sometimes they do that to weed out the weaklings. The attendance is lower in the morning and picks up later in the day. The more closely ranked matches will happen later on," Ten explained from her seat in the stands beside Sakura. She was dusty, but no worse for wear. Sakura doubted the girl even sweat.

"So, which one am I?" Sakura asked. "The fodder or the favorite?"

"You're a dark horse. No one knows for sure, which is almost as interesting as a close match." Ten grinned wickedly, her smile like a knife. "If the people are lucky, today they'll get both."

At the end of the bench Sakura caught sight of Kotetsu and Izumo, talking to each other in hushed tones and then looking at the pit. Izumo looked up at her and glared with his one good eye while his friend smiled sheepishly. Sakura turned her eyes back down to the match and pretended she didn't want to know what they were talking about. Something told her she was a part of their conversation, or at least her fate.

Sakura's attention snapped from it's mindless drift when she heard Ten gasp and lean forward in her seat. "Another dark horse," she hissed.

Sakura looked down to the arena and felt her heart stop at the clear face of the newest contender. A Gaul, or an old tribal Goth from the Germanic region, he stood with heavy shoulders and an older face than the one Sakura was used to. Kiba still had the same red tribal markings on his face, but his eyes were so much harder and his jaw that much sharper. He was older, yes, but there was something more that made him a different person than the one she knew from the Monarch Woods.

"Who is he?" Sakura asked, hating how weak her voice sounded out loud. Her heart felt pain again for the boy with bright smiles who trailed after her with a puppy's love. She had left him to a heartsickness, but no one's attraction had won her over in the Obelisk. She wouldn't feel guilty for it.

"He's one of those wild ones from the North. Someone said he can use chakra. Look at his hands."

Sakura did, and that's when she saw the gauntlets that looked just like hers. They were new looking too, newer than her's at least.

"Who do you think will win? Marius is one of the favorites. He used to be a Roman legionnaire."

"Kiba will win," Sakura breaths, not caring that she's not supposed to know this boy's name.

The match begins and it is one of the bloodiest ones yet. Kiba didn't just win, he dominated. The other fighter's body was a mess of gore and blood and broken bones. The Gaul stood over his kill with blood dripping from his muzzle, thrilled to some degree by the savage cheer rising up from the crowd. They loved it and wanted more of this new vicious killer. All Sakura's heart could do was break for the boy with lost smiles.

"You're next," Izumo said, tapping her shoulder roughly. His voice was sharp as he nodded down to where the waiting pits were. Another pair of fighters were already stalking out to fight, but Sakura needed to be ready once one of them went down.

"That last match was pretty messy, don't you think?" Kotetsu asked, voice light and dismissive as he watched through the gaps of wood that separated Sakura and her team from the pits. "But I think you'll be fine if you have to go up against him. He's feral, not very bright."

Sakura nods, understanding his words. She saw the same fight. She knows what he means. Kiba was all animal out there in the dust and blood. It was hard to see him and think he was human and not wolf.

"You won't have to fight him till the semi finals if you both make it that far," Izumo huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not that you should be worried about that right now. You're going to be going out there soon enough. This one looks like a quickie, they're not evenly matched at all."

"It's the mystery bunch," Kotetsu laughs. "No one knows how the next few fighters will do."

"I'll win."

Both men turn to look at her. She raises her eyes to meet theirs, already hearing the cheer from the crowd of another kill. Blood was in the air and on the earth but none of that mattered.

"I will win," she said again, more slowly and deliberately, as if that made it more true.

Kotetsu reacted first, smiling and nodding. "Of course you will. That's what we believe."

Sakura doesn't wait for Izumo to say anything. He might not say anything, so she doesn't hold her breath, she just pushes the wood back and walks into the arena, feeling the full force of the stench. It's not just blood, but urine and vomit and sweat from fear. It's a mix of hell to her senses, but she remembers Kisame and it's enough for her to keep her face set. She has not come so far to fall now.

'First thing we work on is your stance. I don't care if you're punching or swinging a sword, how you stand and how you breath all are vital to every fighter.'

It's almost as if Kisame was there in her ear, reminding her of their lessons. Even before the nightmares in Obelisk began, Sakura had a body in the real world that remembered fighting, that remembered kids Karate and older self defense classes. She wasn't a stranger to fighting, but in the last two years, she grew that much closer to it. Fighting was a part of her soul now.

So when the aged fighter with more scars than skin walked out, it didn't make a difference to Sakura. She had no limit to her endurance, so she payed to I, running and dodging and never stopping for as long as she was in the ring. He was old, which meant he was slower but tougher. She aimed for his kidneys and she knew she did damage, but he was either really numb to the pain, or he was tougher of skin than she thought. Maybe both.

He swung at her, and it was the first she realized he had a weapon when she didn't. The odds were not for her, but she wasn't the dreamer for nothing. She rushed for his wrist and her teeth caught him and bit down. He tasted terrible, but he dropped the crude knife and it became hers.

When she reached for it his knee found her ribs and she was sent rolling through the dust with the prize in her hand, feeling cracked in two different places. Still, when she stood, she could see the fear in his stance. He had realized it. He was the weaker one.

'Don't look at his face,' she told herself as she closed the distance. He didn't have time to evade. She didn't let him.

Sakura buried the blade between his eyes and stumbled backwards while the body pitched like a debased tree in the forest. For a moment she saw too clearly what she had done, and then the body tipped and fell to one side while the world burst into applause. She tasted bile in her throat, and she swallowed it down.

'Look at what you've done,' a voice that wasn't Kisame's hissed in her ear. Sakura clenched her jaw and refused to move her face in the direction of the body. It wasn't real, he wasn't real, this was no different than a video game kill.

"Good job, now get off the field," Izumo called to her from somewhere over her shoulder.

Sakura looked up to see him glaring at her while Kotetsu cheered. She headed in their direction without looking up into the stands to see shouting for her or the brothers Ashura and Indra watching her with interest. She hadn't even remembered to look for their box where they both sat together. She had seen them once when walking in with Ten, but not again since then.

"You'll fight again tomorrow for sure," Kotetsu laughed before slapping her on the back. Something came away with his hand and he made a screwed up face that almost looked like horror. Sakura knew she smelled bad, but didn't want to know what she rolled through or landed in.

"I want to go see one of the other fighters, is that allowed?" Sakura asked, watching both of them.

"Ugh, Ten?" Kotetsu asked.

Sakura shook her head. "The feral Gaul. Will I be fighting him tomorrow since we both won?"

Izumo shook his head, point out behind her where a new pair of fighters emerged. "Likely no, since the winner of the next match will be your opponent, and then after that the semi final matches are drawn randomly by a priest from Ares' temple."

"So I can see him."

"It's not a good idea, but there is no rule against it. Just don't try to kill him before the match, it will get you kicked out and then one of us will have to kill you on account of the money we would loose," said Izumo.

Sakura nodded and then slipped behind them, trotting down through the tunnels connecting each waiting area. There were a few with bodies still in them, but most were empty. The winners had likely all gone out to the stands, but Sakura knew that Kiba wouldn't the same way she knew he wouldn't be the same boy she left behind so many months ago. Months, years, how long had it been since the Monarch Woods?

She saw him in his shackles, a chain connecting them to the wall as he crouched down on the stone floor. He looked up when he heard her approach and she saw through the slats in the wooden door, how he moved to smell her approach. There was a latch on the door but it wasn't locked. Without his chakra his chains would be enough.

"Kiba," she breathed, watching him stiffen at the sound. She undid the latch and pushed the door open. "Kiba, what happened to you?"

The scars on his arms stood out and she felt it reverberate in her heart, the guilt she didn't want. She ached with him. It was terrible that he had to live this fate again and again with each new dreamer. She hated the idea that he was in agony because of her. Her role in the dream condemned him to this.

Her hands tingled and she wished she had enough chakra in them to smash down walls. It wasn't enough, but maybe there was some way she could break his own bonds. If he would do the same to her, she could get free and together-

She stepped forward to reach out to him, but he lunged for her, more beast than man as his throat opened in a deep bark.

"Back!" he snarled. "Away from me woman, or I'll kill you here before the there!" His eyes were wide and narrow all at once, seemingly impossible. The red marks on his face stood out vibrantly. He snarled again and his chains strained. "I'll kill you, kill you!"

"Kiba, stop it, I don't mean you harm. I'm not here to hurt you. My name's Sakura-"

"I'll kill you!" He lunged again and again, straining and jerking on the chain.

He was a wild thing that spoke the truth, and that broke a part of her heart. Sakura took a step back, holding the side where her ribs were likely cracked. She was in pain, but Kiba was supposed to be her friend here. He was supposed to not blame her for any of this, but instead help her and aid her as the dreamer. She was special to him. She was supposed to be special to him.

Sakura opened her mouth but no words came out. She let her lips still as she slowly backed away. On the threshold of the door she reached for it, prepared to leave him on the other side of it once she eased it shut. "I'm sorry you became like this, Kiba. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."

 _It's your fault._

 _Your fault._

 _Dreamer is the fault, you're the fault, the fault is yours_.

Sakura stumbled backwards and hit the solid chest of a person. He caught her shoulders and turned her, crossing her legs as she pivoted. She stared up in to the narrowed red eyes of Indra, lined in red war paint. He was just as intimidating as ever.

"You know the boy." He looked up over her head at the body of the screaming man inside. Kiba wasn't a boy anymore, but maybe that's how he seemed to someone who hadn't been there when he had baby fat in his face and a smile too wide to hold.

"I wasn't going to…No. I was mistaken."

"Of course," he hummed disbelievingly. "But he's been a slave in the army for nearly a year now. They couldn't hope to control him anymore, so now he is here. Did you think he knew him before all that?"

"I was mistaken, it's the wrong boy."

He still held her around the shoulders and he didn't seem prepared to let her go. He looked over her shoulder, searching through the gaps in the wood door for something he couldn't find. "You knew someone like that. Maybe not him…but that tone was one I easily recognize. You think to find a friendly face down here in the pits?" His eyes fixed back on her and his hands hurt her shoulders.

"I won, you don't need to come here to scare me like this. I didn't do anything wrong."

"You're my slave, I can treat you as I like."

"I'm not a thing you can own!" Sakura snarled, remembering what it was like to feel anger. It was too easy to start to give in to the words of others, she needed to keep herself safe with truth. She wasn't a thing, she wasn't a slave, she was a person with an identity and she was free.

He almost growled, reaching behind her to drag her forward, but she hissed in pain at the way he made her moved her ribs. One was broken for sure, the other might just be bruised. He flinched at the sound of her intake of breath and dropped his hand to a loose hold. Indra looked over her, searching for a wound and in that moment his hold was slack enough for her to pull away. She held her ribs, backing away, out of his new reach.

He watches her in a way she recognizes and knows too well. She needs to get away. She needs to flee from this man, from this moment, from this situation before it develops any further. Maybe there is softness there under his words, but in some way he's a monster and she needs to flee before he makes her an exception.

"Don't move," he orders her, stern but not cold.

Sakura swallows, conflicted on what she must do as he approaches her Her back hits and wall and the choice is made for her. She can go no further. He reaches for the end of her shirt and lifts it up. A pale hand with fingers made for piano keys runs over her ribs, tracing the blooming discoloration. Sakura hisses again and he pauses.

There is heat there and then a cool replaces it, soothing the inflamed skin. Sakura exhales and looks down to see his hand glowing over her wound. It's such a crude attempt, it does little to set the bone, but the pain is dulled a bit more now. He's not a healer, he doesn't know the ways of healing like Tsunade or Shizune, but he knew chakra.

"What are you?"

He's not a slave like her, not an outsider like her, so why?

He catches her eye and Sakura doesn't flinch, not even when his face draws impossibly close to hers. She breaths and the air tastes like his breath before he kisses her again, bending her to him. She's floating and the world is a messy haze of rose and crystals. It's calm enough to melt into.

Sakura remembers herself a moment later and pushes back, hitting the stone wall and sliding down. Indra watches her, making no move to follow her.

Wordlessly, he turns and leaves her.

* * *

That night Ibiki comes to ask her about the boy she called Kiba, and why she wanted to see him so badly. She doesn't tell him and he strikes her across the face, into the hay of her bed. And in the never-ending night of her dream, she's almost afraid, but he leaves her after that and doesn't come back.

In the morning the mark on her face could have been from anything. No one asks, so she doesn't mention it. It's not like she actually slept or anything like that. Last night she lay awake, waiting for the dream to end and release her to the waking world, but none of that happened. She was beginning to loose track of how long she had been dreaming. Was this the second or the third day?

It gets harder to tell after the whole of the day rushes over her in a blur. She doesn't face Kiba or Ten, the only other actors in the line up, but a younger, fitter version of yesterday's outlaw. Sakura remembers the fight, or at least most of it. She remembered the part where she stole his sickle and severed his hand from his wrist in a familiar fashion. Like the way she danced in the Kingdom of Man to Orochimaru's deadly jitterbug, Sakura made herself a collector of souls on the Boneyard's floor.

There were actually two fights for her in one day, and it was late when the last one fell; a imposing viking like woman with long blond braids and one glass eye. She had been harder than the other, and the only one who didn't underestimate Sakura's abilities, but Sakura had lived almost two years in the dream world where death was her shadow. At the end of the day she was blooding, but she was alive and victorious.

Four contestants remained standing, three of those four were important to the dream. Sakura, Ten, Kiba, and a brute that had show no hesitation or seemed to have no difficulty in any of his fights.

"Tomorrow, he's ours."

Sakura turned to the side to see Ten looking out across the yard. Around them the circle of spectators cheered. They had been walked out and put on display in preparation for the next day's main event.

"Ours?" Sakura echoed.

"It's a free for all. A four way fight can only be for our favor. You and I can worry about who comes out on top tomorrow after laying out the competition."

Sakura looks back over across the way to where Kiba stalks back and forth on a short chain, feral like always. He's only let loose to maul and little else. She hadn't tried talking to him again after the last time, but more than once she had rehearsed conversations in her head. She never got far in them.

"Who are you more afraid of?" Sakura asks, looking away from Kiba to stare back over her shoulder at the younger girl.

Ten shifts her shoulders up and then down, not quite a shrug. "I'm fast, but so are you. Our skill sets are too similar for it to make a difference. But isn't there a different reason for you to ask that?"

Sakura doesn't answer and Ten almost looks exasperated.

"I'm not going to tell. Don't look at me like I'm a snitch."

"There's nothing to tell."

"And you got that on your face from one of the fights, right? Ha, no, I watched you well enough to recognize a backhand when I see one. Ibiki came to see you the other night when he heard about how you reacted to the boy. I wouldn't be surprised if Indra set him upon you."

Sakura tried to mask her features and school her face into something dismissive. "And what would you know about Indra? I thought it was Ashura who owned you."

"Yeah, but they're brothers in more ways than just blood. I've been here long enough to know Ashura so well I can see parts of him in Indra. But between the two of them, I got the better end of the stick, I think."

Sakura refuses to touch the discoloration on her face, hoping it dulls by the time she wakes up in the morning, whenever the morning comes. "There is nothing to tell. Not in this life at least. A hundred years ago in a world filed with snows there were stories there worth telling, but I've died and been reborn four times since then." Sakura shakes her head and the short stands of her hair slap the sides of her face. They're getting longer and she plans to cut them again. "Since I know they told you to ask me about it, that's what you can tell them."

Ten stiffens, and her face flushes. Sakura guesses she is not used to being sneaky or civil. She is all steel and fight. Words are not her weapons.

To the side one of the gates opens up and a number of patrons and spectators dressed in finery walk out onto the field. In front of them a child sweeps away the worst of the bloody sand to make it neater for their trek. Sakura's eyes narrow when she sees Indra walking alongside his brother Ashura behind a pair of faceless patrons. One of the unnamed patrons when to Kiba, and the other went to the last champion. A fifth and six circled the whole of the group, likely debating on where their bets would go.

Ashura stopped in front of Ten and smiled wide, humming knowingly when he saw her blush. "Ah, did your girlfriend say something mean to you?" he asked on a childish laugh that only made Ten sputter more.

Sakura's gaze was snatched away when she felt Indra's hand under her jaw. He's staring at her, but she can't tell where his eyes land. He's staring at all of her, taking in as much as he can. Sakura lets her lids drift almost closed as she slides her eyes to the side, obviously disinterested with his proximity.

"You would be wise to not look away from me," he almost growls.

"No one ever accused me of being wise," she says. At her sides her arms hang lifeless, restless, itching to be allowed to do something dangerous.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" he asks, stepping back and letting his hand fall from her chin.

"Sure, fine," Sakura mutters with a roll of her shoulders. He's never asked this of her before. "Why wouldn't I be."

"The boy."

Sakura still herself before she can flinch. She will not react. She will not show emotion. "Huh?" she does her best to appear ignorant. "You want something from him?"

"You're allowed to kill him tomorrow in the matches. See that you do."

Her fingers tense, itching to turn unto themselves and curl into a fist made for shattering the earth. But she's still in shackles so she grins as sweetly as she dares and laughs. Indra's eyes flash at the sound.

"Oi, don't be so mean to your pretty new pet. She'll never smile at you if all you do is threaten her and tell her to kill her boyfriend," Ashura teases, sliding up alongside his brother with anything but brotherly affection in his smile. No, Sakura knows enough to see past the mask Ashura has in place for the audience around them. It may sound teasing, but Ashura wants to wound his brother. Ashura wants to make Indra react.

"Deal with your own bed mates," Indra growls, red eyes flashing.

Ashura pretends to think about it before chuckling and shaking his head, the way a parent would with a child that has just said something ridiculous. "Oh, silly brother, don't be jealous for what's not there. I don't take pets into my bed. You should know better." The sweetness seeps out of Ashura's voice, and when he looks up, his eyes are as hard and cold as his tone. "After all, those things bring cockroaches into the sheets with them."

Sakura's almost thrown as his insult cuts sharply across Ten's features. She goes white, then when she sees Sakura looking over at her, the brunet reddens and looks away, as if ashamed. Its enough to make Sakura stiffen, her eyes darkening. And here Ten said she got luckier with her master. Sakura prefers assholes who are upfront and honest about being assholes. The worst kinds of assholes are the assholes that pretend to be nice and don't think they're assholes at all.

"It's a shame to hear the young lord can not even attract cockroaches into his bed on his own," Sakura mutters under her breath with familiar sass.

It's enough to make Indra whip his eyes back to Sakura in an instant while his brother goes stiff, more shocked than insulted. When neither says anything Sakura lifts her head a bit and schools her features into a look that was too well worn from her teenage years, the years she had nothing to loose and sass to spare. Indra swallows while Ashura tries to fake another smile.

"How amusing, brother, you taught her tricks. Now see if she will listen to some of your commands now." Ashura's tone is cheerful, but his smile is forced while his eyes are sharp as flint.

"I think she's done just fine," Indra replies, faking nonchalance. He turns back to Sakura and touches the side of her face again, the side that was blossoming in bruise. He frowns. "I'll have someone see to this right away. In the morning, first thing the entertain with the actors. Once that is done you will fight for me and you will win."

Sakura slides her eyes to the hulk of a man she intended to go after as soon as the match started. He was the only one unimportant to the story. He wouldn't be easy, but Sakura knew he was the least important by far. "Yeah, well it wasn't my plan to loose, and I kind of don't want to die."

Indra produces something from inside his robe, and from off the side, his brother Ashura watches.

"What is that?" Sakura asks, looking down at the Obsidian shard. It reminds her of the black Obelisk she knows she needs to find.

"This is a shard of the crown you are to win tomorrow. Do not fail me, and the Obelisk Wreath is yours."

It's all Sakura can do to make it back to the barn in one piece before the dream finally ends.

* * *

When Sakura wakes, she undresses to shower and stands in front of the old tub with the water turned off, staring off into nothing as all the minutes in the day try to catch up with her.

That evening she drinks enough coffee to drown a sailor and powers through the night. A night without sleep wears on her, but she demands it. She lived in a dream for too many days when she should have only been trapped for eight hours.

But when she gets home the next night and reaches for the empty coffee maker and finds her grounds depleted, she skips her meal and dresses for bed like a samurai dresses for his last battle. She doesn't even wait for night. It's getting closer to summer but it's still spring and it's cool at six in the afternoon. There's light in the room when she lays her head on her pillow and falls.

* * *

Next Chapter Teaser~

* * *

Blood

Blood

Blood

The earth is singing for it and Sakura is afraid there will be enough to drown them all in it. So much of it is her own as well. This wasn't how she intended the night to go once she fell asleep into the dream of the Obelisk curse.

This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

* * *

AN:/I'm almost done with my first year of teaching and it's just a bit longer now before I have the freedom to stay more on top of my stories. It's been rough, and my health has been pretty terrible, but I'm not done with this story by a longshot. I don't think I'e been invested in anything so big for so long and I'm really proud of that.

Next chapter shouldn't take two months to get out though, sorry! I've spent a lot of time writing micro fiction over on my tumblr page and my tumblr user name is vesperlionheart so if you ever want to look up me over there, that's how to find me. (links out don't work very well on this site.) I'll post a few of the things I wrote for tumblr, but some of it is too NSFW for this site so I'll keep it there.

Please remember to review, because really, that's what sustains me.


	5. Chapter 5

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

Gladiator Boneyard

* * *

There is a memory that is as much a part of her as any choice or action or thought. It's a memory that shaped her being from long ago when she was young and impressionable. Before the relationship became too rocky between her mother and her grandmother, Sakura had been a frequent visitor to her maternal grandmother, and together they often went out on trips into the city. Lunches at fancy hotels, ice skating in the fall, orchestra and art museums made up so much of their time together.

One day in the hotel's dining room, where the chairs are painted with gold, Sakura eats scones with her grandmother who has circumvented the world and humbled it all in her wake. To a child her grandmother is the pinnacle of greatness, the paragon adventurer with no rival in Sakura's eyes.

Noise from the entrance makes her look up, raspberry stains around her face. Being one of the most expensive and exclusive places to eat in New York City, famous people come in to dine all the time. There is a buzz as this woman walks in, and even Sakura's grandmother stops breathing as the brazened woman crosses the threshold, donned in white and gold with a man at each of her four corners.

Sakura remembers that moment that could have been insignificant if she had been with anyone else, but she had been with her grandmother-the woman who saw it all. When Sakura looked up at her grandmother she saw something that made her feel humbled.

The woman passed by their table, and every other table the heads dipped in respect for the Middle Eastern queen of a country torn open by war and bloodshed. She passed by Sakura and as a child Sakura remembered the moment the queen of a lost country made her six year old self afraid and mesmerized all at once.

Later on, she remembered wondering if that would be what it was like to meet God.

* * *

Blood

Blood

Blood

The earth is singing for it and Sakura is afraid there will be enough to drown them all in it. So much of it is her own as well. This wasn't how she intended the night to go once she fell asleep into the dream of the Obelisk curse.

This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

Ten And Sakura had entered at opposite ends of the arena. Sakura saw Kiba enter at the East gate and the unnamed hulk entered at the West. There was no warning, only a scream before Kiba started to charge the large man. Ten was faster though, intercepting Kiba with lethal accuracy. There was a small river of red running down his bare chest while Ten danced just out of reach, her daggers gleaming. Ashura had been generous.

Sakura returned her attention to the older fighter who paced just out of her reach, less reckless than expected. He reached into his belt and drew a pair of knuckle rings with points on the ends meant to tear and slash. Sakura cursed her luck. Indra hadn't given her any such advantage. Had he truly expected her to win this match?

She matches his stance with her own. When he paces left she paces right, keeping him an even distance from her body. When his elbows tense, so do hers. She can see the way he takes in his breaths. Chest inflating with new air before his ribs sink and push the old out. One inhale and then the next. The world fades further and further away.

'Don't forget your stance.' Zabuza is grumbling behind her. The memory of him is something she feels and knows, not only sees.

'He's right, Sakura,' Haku coos from somewhere she can't see. 'The first thing you learn in any martial art is how to stand. There is no way around this. If you do not stand properly then every move you make will be wrong.' The memory of the beautiful boy walks in front of her, passing across the opening between him and her. 'How to properly stand while fighting is not instinctive and it must be taught. Remember our words, there is no getting around this. So, stand firm here.'

Sakura remembers vividly what Kisame told her next, but she never sees Kisame or hears his words. The world is coming back to her and the giant of a man is rushing towards her, his knuckles up and his eyes hot like desert heat. Sakura turns and falls into the sand, rolling out of reach, only to spring up and turn around again.

'The second thing anyone should learn is how to fall over, and the third thing how to stand up again without dropping your guard,' Kisame barks from the shadows at the edge of the ring. 'Show me your fall from grace, eh?'

The man charges again but this time Sakura rolls in a different direction and springs up faster. He's not as easily tricks and stops before he can barrel past her too far. Her ankle is high, a knife across the sun, before it comes down with a wet sound across his face. Blood sprays across the sand and she feels something cold on her ankle. His face is a painted mess in red. His eyes are still as fierce as ever when he roars though, and Sakura fears there will be a part of her he will catch before she can find any victory for herself.

He moves and he is fast, there's no doubt he got as far as he has on something other than luck. Sakura is a petal adrift in the wind, refusing to be touched as she ducks and pivots out of the way, using her steps like chess pieces. Each one had a specific and detailed focus, and from the shadows, the memory of Kisame nods in appreciation. It's no sword fight, but her body will always be her first and last weapon, and her life is just as endangered here as any other time a man tried to kill her.

He closes in and tries with a bit more desperation to land a hit, faster and wider, but Sakura plays to her advantage. She won't tire out. She has an endurance that is as unending as her imagination so it's more of a waiting game than anything else if she can be patient enough. He swings over her and she nearly stumbles into his opposite fist, but she lets her legs collapse, dragging her down. At his ankles she takes a second to shift her weight before rolling back onto her back and kicking up with all the force she can muster. Her heel drives into his crotch and she hears the roar of shock from the onlookers as they watch. He screams and stumbles, and that's enough for her. His hands are loose and ease to break open long enough to steal one of his spiked knuckles. She knows he is aware of what she's doing, and he'll only be down for a second more before-

His freed hand reaches for her throat and catches it. People gasp as she chokes. His arm is still shaking, weak from the last impact, but he's regaining everything he lost in no time at all. Sakura feels her feet drag, toes lifting above the sand as he holds her aloft, a prize to destroy on his own.

Sakura struggles feeling her eyes begin to bulge. He's about to crush her windpipe and end the whole world around him and he doesn't even have a face she can remember-only eyes as hot as the desert and twice as brutal.

'Focus.'

Its enough for her to lift one leg up onto his shoulder, and then the other. She crosses her ankles and screws her heel into his face, bending at the waist to rip her free from his hand as they both tumbled into the sand, gasping and sprawling. She lost the knuckle, and he is without the other, but she hears metal on leather and rolls away in time to miss a dagger through her throat.

Another weapon. How much favor did she need for something so small? Sakura backs away as far as she can and curses the shackles around her wrists. If not for them she would have been fine, she would have destroyed the whole arena by now, punched it clean through and brought the stones down around them all. But the dream is not bent to her will, the dream is trying to kill her and have a good time doing it.

Sakura curses and braces to move. Adrenaline isn't in her blood yet, and she's still mostly in control, but there is a trickle there that makes her limbs loose, and she knows it is because of her fear. Adrenaline will give her a surge for fight or flight, but it will rob her of her greater focus and make her sloppy.

Across the arena Ten and Kiba are both bleeding from different places for different reasons. There is a muzzle of blood around Kiba's jaw from the wound on Ten's throwing arm. He bit her and would have torn her apart if he could have. But there's a metal star still stuck in his shoulder, buried deep enough to stay lodged throughout the fight. Kiba is using more energy and looks like he will tire sooner, but Ten's wavering on her feet, sick with blood loss. She won't make it long enough to outlast someone as feral as Kiba. She's outmatched. She's going to loose and it won't be the first time she's died in the dream world, and maybe not the last.

Sakura races forward first, but it's not towards her opponent, but towards Kiba. He hears her coming and pivots out of the way before she can come close, but it wasn't him Sakura had been aiming for. Sakura skids in the sand to stand alongside Ten, taking a posture that made her stand forward.

"Sakura," the other girl breaths, and she sounds so young.

"You're nearly dead on your feet," Sakura says, watching Kiba but making no move to engage him. If she's lucky, her opponent will do that for her.

"This wasn't a part of the plan. You shouldn't be over here," she hisses, sounding pained.

"You're hurt, Ten. You're not going to last much longer. You need medical assistance. Someone needs to look at that bite on you-"

Sakura feels the rush of air leave her lungs as a blade buries there. She can feel it inside her, it's small and thin, more like a needle than a knife, and it's burning like it was coated in poison or something. Kiba stills from across her, eyes wide and watching as Sakura feels her knees buckle.

It's in her, still in her, when she falls onto her side. She sucks in air and it's like sucking in water as she feels blood pool in her lung. The world around her is screaming and turning and twisting. She can see so little of it, but up somewhere in the stands, in a box trimmed in purple and red, the man she was told to call masters watches her in silent fury while his brother cackles. Indra looks like he wants to kill her himself while Ashura reaches for more wine to lift above his head and cheer with.

"Ten?"

"This wasn't a part of the plan. You were supposed to die in your own fight."

Sakura lifts her head just enough to see the girl with dirt on her face, struggling to hold onto a glare. Sakura feels soft and light while Ten trembles in something like rage. "God-how stupid are you? We're not friends, we're enemies. Ou-our masters are enemies. He told me to kill you, I ha-I had to. He made me."

Across the sands there is a figure. Baki stands in the shadows, watching her. His voice is in her head as she chokes on another blood flavored breath as it echoes in her ears.

'This is the Gate to the Kingdom of Gods, the Gladiator Boneyard. There is no one here who will love you anew, there is no one here who can save you. This is a selfish world you have chosen for yourself when you left behind the monsters who loved you. This is the end. What will you do now, humble dreamer?'

He looks up into the stands and Sakura follows his gaze to a booth where men and women sit on opposite sides of a pedestal. Between them is a crown made of polished glass, and in the center, the tallest point there is an Obelisk decoration thrumming with magic. The victor's crown is also her key to the next world, a key she should have been more focused on winning and less on saving others.

Indra gave her nothing, her hands are empty, her wrists are shackled, and her lungs are wet with blood. The world is gasping around her in a mess of colors and sounds. Sakura whimpers into the sand, squeezing her eyes shut and struggling to master the pain, to climb on top of it and push it down to a place where she couldn't feel it anymore.

'Sai, why aren't you here anymore?' She missed him, she missed the feeling of a friend in her corner as the world around her tried to kill her. She missed him. She missed his belief in her. The things he'd say…

"I'm sorry."

Sakura looked up and saw Ten above her with another knife raised.

"This one will end it faster."

Ten lifted the knife and swung it down. Sakura saw it move, saw all the parts of the younger girls hand and arm tense in the motion. The world slowed as the knife closed in and Sakura shut her eyes as flesh tore open and blood sprang free. There was a scream, high pitched and loud and Sakura's eyes went wide.

It wasn't her scream. She looked behind her and swallowed in surprise at what she saw. Kiba stood over her, blood dripping from his mouth that used to be in Ten's veins. A yard away the young girl lay,angry red paths down her front ending in deep pits in her guts that flowed red. She stared up at Kiba in shock, hands shivering over the wound that was leaking too much. There was a question in her eyes. "You? Why?"

Kiba just growled, bending lower over Sakura's felled body, protective, defensive, but still feral.

Ten reached into a pocket by her hip and pulled out a pair of needles, like the one buried in Sakura's lung. She held one, hand wobbling, before it dropped from her limp fingers.

"Behind you," Sakura hissed, feeling the breeze before she could see anything, but Kiba sensed it first.

He reeled over her like an animal and launched himself at the last man standing, not caring for size differences. Kiba was wild and everywhere and a better match for the man than Sakura had been. Somewhere in the stands his master should be smiling.

"What a lot we make," Ten wheezed, hand still over her wounds, though the pressure wasn't there anymore. She was going to bleed out soon. Her eyes drift upwards towards the brothers. "They both wanted to win so badly, but in the end, it won't be either of them."

It was too much, But Sakura still managed to pull herself up into her knees. She was drowning in her own lungs, but she managed enough to take a step, and then another, and then another, across the sands and through the blood until she was over Ten. The younger girl looked up at Sakura, eyes tired and worn. She was too young for eyes like those.

"Please," she whispered. "Just make it quick."

But Sakura had no knife and the strength to strangle wasn't in her arms anymore. Instead she laid her hands down on Ten's wounds and applied pressure. "It's going to be alright. You're going to be fine."

Ten laughed, tears in her eyes. "What are you saying. Look at you, you're going to die because of me. Don't tell me sweet lies."

"You're going to be okay, you're going to be just fine. We can fix this. It's going to be okay," Sakura whispered, staring down at her dull hands that refused to glow green. The shackles were still there, but if they weren't…oh, if they weren't there….

Ten laughed and it's a ripped sound that comes from her mouth. "Don't tell me pretty lies. I'm not supposed to like you anymore. Don't…" Ten catches herself on a sob and laughs over it, tears falling free now. "Don't."

"Shhh, shhh, it's fine. You're going to be okay, you're going to be okay. We can fix this. It's going to be okay."

Ten turns her face away and sobs once or twice, but then the breathing in her lungs makes her cough up even more blood. She's more red than girl and Sakura's afraid. She's never seen so much blood from a person. Ten will exsanguinate at this rate before the minute is up and the shackles are sill there. Sakura feels tears on her own face. The shackles are still on her wrist and there is nothing she can do.

A roar from around the world brings her eyes up and Sakura turns behind her to see what they're so worked up about. She hears his back break and then his body falls to the sand in a boneless bunch. It's his spine, his spine is snapped and there's no more life in him anymore. The other fighter stumbles backwards, blood down his face, his arms a mess that won't ever work properly again.

There's screaming and cheering from a thousand and one people, but Sakura's sobbing as the fighter walks over Kiba's lifeless body. His eyes are open, wide and clear enough to reflect the world. He had been looking at her when he fell and he was still looking at her, even after death.

' _This is the Gate to the Kingdom of Gods, the Gladiator Boneyard. There is no one here who will love you anew, there is no one here who can save you. What will you do now, humble dreamer?_ '

"This is a nightmare, nothing but a nightmare, a dream, a dream," Sakura chants, watching the brute walk in circles of victory with his hand held high. He's chanting and cheering as Sakura's blood boils. "This is a nightmare, a dream, my nightmare, my dream. My dream-God, Sai, why?"

She doesn't hear the words, but his memory is there and Sakura feels what she felt when the Sigh of Dejection told her she was the one he believed in. She was in pain, her heart was broken, and she was surrounded by enemies and dead friends on all sides. From above them in the observation boxes, Ashura and Indra watch, less enthused than the others around them. Indra's eyes will not leave her and she burns.

"This is my dream and you are not my master."

Sakura feels it as the world bends around her. Her mind is stronger, she pushes against the restrictions, the walls built up around her, and something breaks. Baki moves, startled, but it's too late. The shackles are already gone, banished by her will. The world is warped, screeching all around her as she forces it down, angry and enraged with loss.

 _Sasori, Hungry, Deidara, Sai, Neji, Kakashi, Ten, Kiba_ , no more.

Sakura was a hurricane as chakra flared around her, overflowing with her will. The knife in her back was gone, the poison was gone, the hole was sealed, the wound was healed. Her hands hurt and she knew what they wanted. People were screaming for a new reason now, another fight, but she would make them scream for something else.

"No more."

Sakura raised her fist and brought it down with all her might, just like Tsunade taught her. What once had been sand and earth soon became a massacred terrain of uneven slabs heaved up out of their pockets in the globe to stand erect. Fissures ran up into the stands and a whole section collapsed as several dozen fell to their death. Sakura punched again and hissed as the sand jumped in the new destruction. Another section of seats crumbled.

The man who had kissed Kiba was dead, crushed between two bolders, but Indra and Ashura were still alive, watching from their box as all the others around them rushed for what they believed was safety.

Indra still watches her, the world of chaos around him mean nothing as he refuses to move. Beside him, his brother is just as stalwart. Chakra is something that both brothers have access to, a-bit in lesser dosages, but it's not enough to challenge her. That's why they kept her in chains and shackles, that's why 'savages' in the wild were hunted and captured so ruthlessly. The story of truth is there in his eyes, and even though Sakura hadn't been around for long, she knew with vivid certainty what was true in her gut. What she didn't know was what the brothers would do now. They couldn't stop her, but would they try. Would Ashura even weep for the body of the girl who had been so faithful to him?

Across the arena, in the shade of a chunk of earth still seeping sand from its edges, Baki stood watching her. And Sakura knew, if they weren't still running, every eye left in the stands was on her now. The dream was hers and hers alone. It had already taken so much-too much-from her, it was time she took something from it.

Sakura felt power in her legs when she jumped and landed on the tallest point of upturned there she straightened and jumped again, this time landing on the edge of the box's railing where the woman and man dressed in purple had once sat. They were gone now, and all that was left behind was their Onyx crown with the obelisk shining proudly in the center.

All the boxes, while separated, shared a hall, and the bow where the brothers watched wasn't far. She heard their approach. When she looked up, there Indra was, and beside him was his brother Ashura. Sakura looked to the younger brother first when she spoke.

"You told Ten to kill me, even though you knew how she felt, even though you teased her, mocked her, and wasted her admiration? Did it make you feel good, to step on someone under you?"

Chakra around her flared and the sand on the banister jumped away as if she were a great wind. She let her chakra burn like a flame all around her, the better for them to feel it and be daunted by it.

"You are angry," Ashura begins.

"I am beyond that!" Sakura snarls, and the force of her chakra pushes him back against a wall. He feels the force of her press down on his throat like a fist. She still has the memory of bruises from her own fight.

Indra takes a step, but it is not towards his brother, but rather away from him. He is a fool if he believes none of her wrath is left for him. She whips her eyes to him and he freezes like stone. Swallowing, he nods in her direction.

"How did you do it? Those shackles should have-"

Stone splits around her, groaning with strain but not enough to collapse or separate. "No! You don't get to ask questions here." She breaths in and feels the snarl tug her lip down and she regards him. "You…you do not ask questions of things, you demand answers, but I am not a thing and I will give you no answers. I told you before and I'll tell you again, I am not your property, I am not your slave." She holds up her wrists. "Now you can see it, I am free."

Sakura steps down from the ledge, and the chakra around her quells. What had once been a dress is now a mess of rags, torn, stained, and still bleeding other people's blood, but her posture makes it seem like she's wearing furs and silks and she believes it.

"Master," a new voice calls out, further below. Sakura looks over her shoulder to see Ibiki, the man who pried open her mind all those times in an attempt to see her secrets, standing amidst the rubble. Behind him trail Kotetsu and Izumo, both looking worried. There is no one calling out for Ashura.

"They're worried about you," Sakura mused out loud. "Do they think I am going to kill you? If so, why did you run towards me?"

Ashura watches her mutely while Indra raises his palms up and speaks. "Please, put your shackles back on and nothing will come to you. The other hunters will have been called by now, they'll come to subdue you. Others who have chakra greater than ours…"

"There is no one stronger than me in this dream, I think I just proved that to you." Sakura looks from Indra to his servants, eyes narrowed at Ibiki. "But you wouldn't have known it because you never saw it when you peaked into my mind with your faithful pet. What did you see? Did you see wolves, dead lovers, dead friends, dead monsters and beasts? No, how could you?"

She holds up a hand and feels something familiar as the bone sword falls like a weight into her palm to grasp. The sheath in her opposite hand has new decorations for her to look over later. She slips the blade back into it's sheath and hangs it at her side while the bloody rags around her melt into something else. Both men take a step back.

"That's not how chakra works," Ashura breaths, knuckles white at his side.

Feeling near drunk on power Sakura steps forward, the gold around her neck gleaming. In front of her the pedestal with the crown sits, closer than ever.

"If she touches that the night will shatter!" Kotetsu shouts, sounding frantic.

"Don't let her touch the cursed-" Izumo adds before wind makes him choke on swirling sand.

In front of her Indra and Ashura both ready new weapons, standing like mirrored images of each other. What once divided them in hate is gone. Now they are a united front.

"We can't let you take it, not when we know what you are," Ashura bites, shaking around the sword he has drawn with his own chakra.

Indra is more composed with his own chakra. "To humans it may be harmless, but to you…"

"She will end the world," Ibiki shots.

"To me?" Sakura tilts her head playfully, not the least bit intimidated by their postures. She knows what sort of well she draws from and how much greater her will to survive is. They are but actors, she is the dreamer. "And just what am I, if I'm not a slave, and not a human?"

Indra's sword glowed red before bursting out in a flame of fire. Ashura's sword crackled with lightning. Their looks were steadfast and Sakura knew the answer to her own question.

Somewhere close, Baki, her guide was watching.

 _This is the Gate to the Kingdom of Gods, the Gladiator Boneyard. What will you do now, humble dreamer?"_

Sakura made herself a hurricane and brought down the rest of colosseum. Like ants, the brothers fell through the cracks and landed in broken bits at her feet. Smoke and dust and sand made the world a haze around her, but Sakura saw through it all. The obelisk was standing out brilliantly atop the rubble. Close by Indra lay across a slab of upturned earth, blooding out of his side and coughing. She had been far less gracious with Ashura.

The white cloth behind Sakura flapped in the haze and her gold armor stood out brilliantly, accenting the gold dust around her eyes.

"Don't," Indra tries again to speak his warning. When Sakura looks back over at him she's caught between wanting to laugh and maybe kiss away the blood running across his eyes.

"I told you I was a human being with rights and freedom, but I was wrong," Sakura says, holding his eye as he watches her. "I've become more than that, haven't I?"

His breathing is shallow, like hers had once been. "They told us a god would come for it. They said it needed a champion, so we went into the desert, where there were savages closer to their chakras, ones far stronger than ours. We wanted that honor, the honor of winning, but we also wanted to live. We wanted to survive the darkness of the end times. You will bring our world to a close, will you not?"

Sakura thought about gates and what happened to them after the dreamer moved on to a new kingdom. What became of the TeaLion Express, of The Monarch Woods, or the Marble Gardens? Did she care?

"I move from world to world. When I leave one behind, their is no purpose in it's existence anymore. Maybe your world will fall apart once I leave. I can not say."

"You will damn us all."

"You've been dead for centuries already. It's just your turn to move on."

He struggles, but there is real anger weighing his words down. "You devil! We deserve better than this destruction, you can't do this to us!"

Sakura reaches for the crown shaped wreath, feeling the dream around her shiver. "I am no devil, but this is my dream and I will be its god."

She crowns herself and her destruction is undone in darkness as the world falls away.

* * *

So Ends the Gladiator Boneyard

Enter the Kingdom of Gods

* * *

AN:/

Shorter than I wanted, but it ties up neatly at least. This is the last chapter of the last gate and after this it is the Kingdom Of Gods with familiar and brand new never before seen faces in the role of actors. She'll also learn more about what the Obelisk is and what it was created for. I hope to have more updates soon!

Just so you know, I've spent a lot of time writing micro fiction over on my tumblr page and my tumblr user name is vesperlionheart so if you ever want to look up me over there, that's how to find me. (links out don't work very well on this site.) I'll post a few of the things I wrote for tumblr, but some of it is too NSFW for this site so I'll keep it there.

Please remember to review, because really, that's what sustains me.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

"Magic does that. It wastes you away. Once it grips you by the ear, the real world gets quieter and quieter, until you can hardly hear it at all." ―

Catherynne M. Valente,

Deathless

* * *

The smack was sharp and echoing, hurting in her ears as Sakura looked up from her drink. She blinked once before running towards the sound that wasn't quite as violent as she first thought it to be. She was awake, after all.

Before she made it to the kitchen there was another smack. Standing on the threshold Sakura saw both girls sporting red hand prints on either side of their faces. Karin's eyes refused to flinch as Ino held her gaze. Neither girl looked ready to back down.

"What's going on." Sakura looked to Ino first and then to Karin. "Isn't Suigetsu here?"

Ino smirked and it was cruel. "Yeah, your boyfriend needs you."

"That's got nothing to do with this. You think one thing, one person can make up for years of absence you bitch, than-"

"Okay!" Sakura cried, running between the both of them. "That's enough, the both of you. I left you alone for ten minutes."

"You shouldn't have left me alone at all," Ino pouted playfully. "I got lost looking for the trash."

"Ino," Sakura warned tone sharp. The blond blinked in response and looked away, ears reddening. "The both of you know better. What was it this time, cup sizes?"

"Nothing, I have to go." Karin rubbed the heel of her hand across her cheek like that would take away the handprint there. "Suigetsu gets clingy when he's drunk."

Sakura swallowed, knowing her friend was being honest about her boyfriend and nothing else. "You're going to leave now? I haven't seen you in days."

For a moment Karin looked as if she was about to stop and change her mind, but a glance over Sakura's shoulder made her frown. Stubborn as ever, the redhead turned and stormed off through the apartment looking for her boyfriend. Sakura let her, knowing Karin needed space a time to cool off. Unfortunately, Sakura had little of either.

"Did you instigate it?" Sakura asked, her back to Ino.

Even though she couldn't see her blond friend, somehow Sakura was still able to hear her friend pout before Ino decided to drape herself over Sakura's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I tried, really I did. I have no self control when it comes to quick slap backs. It's a reflex from work."

"You're not at work and you are not your job." Sakura rolled her shoulders and Ino detached easily, hopping off to stand off to the side with her hands behind her back. Sakura sighed again before adding, "I'm going to find Karin and tell her goodbye before she leaves, don't get into trouble. I'm coming right back."

"Goody two shoes," Ino chirped, looking off to the wet bar where an assortment of drinks waited.

She had already had enough to color her cheeks, a few more would be all it took before she was boneless on the floor and dead to the world. Sakura didn't want to have to deal with that again, but it was going to be impossible to play mom to the model blond for the rest of the night and not look like she was being a bitch to her other friends.

"Stay out of trouble, I mean it," Sakura warned before moving out of the kitchen.

Karin was in the stairwell's hallway, trying to squeeze around a couple making out in a way that let you know it was a new relationship. Karin looked green at the sight but managed to blink away her nausea when she felt Sakura's hand on her wrist.

"Don't leave just yet. I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet," Sakura said, tugging Karin away from the new couple.

"What's there to talk about? You need something?" Karin asked in a huff, looking away.

"No, I just-I just wanted to talk. You're ignoring my texts."

"I've been busy."

"I was with Juugo when you texted him back right away. But not me?" Sakura let go of Karin's wrist and stepped back. "I'm not stupid."

"I'm not stupid either," Karin snapped. "I could tell you were being shifty about something. You didn't tell me the truth when I asked you if you were seeing someone."

Sakura flinched. "What?"

"I thought you were my friend, I thought you would tell me so I could look out for you. Did you think I wouldn't? Did you think I would be a bad friend? Do you think I'm not a good judge of character or something like that? You gotta tell me cause I don't know. I just know it's something I got different from your other best friend, the one you could tell anything to."

Karin's words were biting and Sakura felt each one dig in deep, prying at her emotional venerability. Karin was one of Sakura's closest friends. Sakura couldn't loose Karin over something so silly.

"Kar, I'm sorry. I really am, I didn't know you felt that way, but I don't know what you're talking about. You mean dating someone? You think I was seeing a guy and not telling you about it? Who did you think I was seeing?"

"I don't know! Bu-but earlier this year you…you seemed like you were and the guys at the Orchard thought so to. We all kind of did and then you were so down, you were just like a…you were like someone who just got her heart crushed and I saw it and I waited for you to say something, but you didn't."

"And you think I said something to Ino."

Karin flushed. "That's what she said!"

Sakura shut her eyes and thought back to the early spring when she would fall asleep to wake up in Madara's arms and pretend she was as happy as she was ever going to be because she was safe there and she belonged with him. That had been a lie, she had been running away from her responsibility to finish what she started. Still, leaving his safety and his comfort hadn't been easy. No matter what she felt for him, Sakura knew Madara loved her, she didn't doubt it. Up to the very end he had been so frantic to keep her with him where she would be safe from slavery and torture. He knew, and he was willing to give her to a different man to keep her safe in the Kingdom of Monsters.

But how could Karin understand that? How could Sakura make her understand something as absurd as a dream?

"I never…oh my gosh, I haven't dated anyone since high school Karin, you know I'm not like that, I wouldn't get into something meaningless. I would have told you if I was seeing someone."

Karin's face was darker with a deeper flush. "I-I know, but Ino was…you're living with her now."

"Ino says stuff, especially when she's buzzed, that she knows she shouldn't. Let me apologize for her."

"Don't," Karin grumbled. "Don't do that for her. She doesn't deserve it. She's such a….skunk."

"Actually she smells kind of good most of the days. It's a new perfume she's advertising-ah, okay I got it, I'm sorry. I won't tease you."

"You're still hiding something from me," Karin grumbled, not sounding like she was ready to forget.

Sakura thought back to the last month of peace she had before the last kingdom began. She had maybe a couple of days since her cycle was nearly finished. After that….she didn't know how long she would be trapped in the curse. She didn't even know how she would be trapped anymore. Last time one night of sleep had lasted days within the dream world. It was like a bad take off of the movie Inception.

'The deeper you dream the slower time moves,' she heard the made up voice of Michael Cain preach to her.

Who knew what would happen next.

"I was never seeing anyone, not for one second of one day, I swear it. But yeah, I am keeping some things from you. I have secrets, and until those things are finished I have to respect the distance to keep from those secrets. I don't want to lie to you, but I can't tell you those things right now."

"There are things you can't tell me."

"They're not all exclusively my secrets. But, please respect it when I say I would if I could, but I just can't share the truth with you right now. Please wait and be patient. I…need to work things out."

"You make it sound like I'm the bad guy for wanting to know. If you're hurt I'm going to want to help you."

"I'm going to be fine, it's me, remember?"

"That makes me worry even more. It sounds like I have a reason to be afraid!"

Sakura forces herself to roll her eyes and laugh. "Please, just let me have this secret for a little longer. Don't worry about it and don't worry for me. You care too much with it comes to your four favorite people," she joked.

"Three-Shisui is sort of demoted at this point. He's holding out on me and I didn't think that was possible but it's pissing me off more than I thought it would. He's avoiding me right now. Ugh-if he thinks he needs to be jealous of me and you he's right. You're the only one I feel like I can talk to and not end up screaming at when I don't get my way."

Sakura chuckled and reached for Karin, pulling her friend in for a hug that turned into a snuggle as the redhead began to complain even more about her boyfriend. Sakura rubbed small circles into Karin's back and dragged the nail of her smallest finger up the path of her spine and then down again, soothing the girl as best she could.

A minute later the couple in the stairwell broke apart and then barked something rude about their PDA being 'super gross.' Karin got aggravated and flipped them the bird before the dude called them a slur. At the sound of it, Karin lunged for his throat, screaming about how she was going to tear open his sexist homophobic butt-hole and fill it with rusted screws when Sakura pulled her back and hugged her from behind. Sakura whispered into Karin's ear and the redhead instantly simmered.

"Let them be," Sakura cooed in an overly sweet voice. "It seems they have a problem when they see something like this…" Sakura's hands slithered around Karin's front. Sakura's hand teased with the trip of Karin's shirt, tugging it upwards. Karin smiled wickedly, reaching up to wrap her hands around Sakura's neck.

"What about something like….this?" Karin breathed, voice purposefully low and throaty as she rocked her hips back. Sakura faked a gasp and then giggled playfully.

"Naughty," Sakura teased in a singsong voice.

"You're the one teasing me to the point where I can't stand it."

"Then don't stand for it," Sakura cooed before playfully nipping Karin's neck. A kiss on the redhead's pulsing vein turned into two, and then three. Karin made a throaty sound before her knees began to wobble.

The girl in front of then gagged, looking to her boyfriend for support and choking when she saw his blown pupils and the slack jawed look on his face. His jeans didn't hide much either. With a shrill shriek she smacked her boyfriend and stormed off. He seemed to snap out of it, blushed deep red, called them another slur, and then ran off down the hall to catch his girlfriend before she could get too far.

Sakura barked a laugh before she fell against the wall, howling. Karin turned around with a huge shit eating grin spread across her face. Sakura laughed even harder, falling down the wall, her knees giving out.

"Oh my God," Sakura breathed, unable to say anything else.

"Yeah," Karin chuckled, calming down. "Really, here in New York, in this day and age?"

"There are terrible people everywhere," Sakura hummed.

"Yeah, but that's one way to deal with them."

"You can say that again," a new voice added. Both girls turned to see who was speaking.

"Hey," Karin cried. "I was looking for you!"

Suigetsu grinned suggestively. "Oh, what for?"

Karin smacked her boyfriend. "You're such a pervert, no! I just wanted to talk to you. You disappeared on me."

Suigetsu shrugged, ambling up to the pair of girls and stopping only when he was close enough to swing an arm around Karin's shoulders and drag her to his side. "Sorry, babe. You found me." He looked over at Sakura and winked. "Anytime you want to join us let Karin know. I won't mind."

Karin screamed and hit her boyfriend, barreling into a tirade about how he was such a creep and they weren't even doing it regularly anymore, and how dare he talk to her friend that way, and who did he think he was, and there was no way they were going to do something without discussing it first.

Sakura chuckled at their antics. "If you guys need a minute…"

Karin's hand shot out and grabbed Sakura's arm. "Don't, I'm sorry! Ugh, no, wait. Yeah, I think we do need to leave, but we're skyping tomorrow night. You're going to be at the Orchard Sunday night, right?"

"Where else would I be?"

"Don't bail on me."

"As if I could," Sakura said with a smirk.

Karin came up with a few colorful threats in case Sakura dared skip out, but Suigetsu was pushing her out the door, rolling his eyes at his girlfriend's antics. Sakura felt a twinge of regret, that she never managed to get a minute alone with Suigetsu to talk about how he was feeling and make sure he was dealing just fine. Karin could be a bit trying, and it sounded like they were working some stuff out. She'd leave them to that first and pry later.

Something in the back rooms made Sakura flinch when she heard it echo down the hall. It sounded a first like breaking glass, but then there was laughter: a very specific laughter.

"Ino," Sakura grumbled, balling her fists and stalking back the way she came.

There was a mess on the floor and the whole front of Ino's shirt was soaked through with water. She was laughing while a pair of males mopped up the glass pitcher that had shattered. One was reassuring Ino that it was no problem, she was fine, accidents happen, etc.

"What did you do?" Sakura sighed, walking around the spill site to her friend.

Ino wobbled a bit on her heels before backing up to lean against the side of a kitchen barstool. "I thought I was making a good choice with water. You didn't drink anything."

"That's because I'm taking you home."

"But we're getting a cab."

"That doesn't mean it's safe for two girls to make it anywhere in this city if both of them are sloshed. Even if we're not driving it's better to have your wits about you before leaving someplace. Ino, how many parties have you been to like this?"

Ino made a cat sound and leaned her head down on Sakura's shoulder. "You'll protect me."

"Way to not take advantage of your friends," Sakura grumbled.

She didn't say anything more though, since Ino was already doing Sakura a huge favor by letting the girl crash at her apartment while the legal disputes were settled between Sakura's mother and aunt over the ownership of the house Sakura had been previously staying in. Sakura's aunt had recently suffered a heart attack and while in the hospital became paranoid her sister was selling off the things inside the house. Grandmother had left the property to both sisters and either refused to share their half of the claim to the other. Sakura's mother was hoping her sister, who was sixteen years older, would die before then.

As the drama stirred up, the imaginary favor Sakura had preserved was lost between her and her aunt. She had been asked to leave the property in a week's time and Ino had been ready to swoop in and save the day. That had all been a handful of nights after her last nightmare ended.

Shaking her thoughts away, Sakura went into the kitchen, got a hand towel, and give it to Ino to clean her front, which was already starting to turn see through in places it was stretched too tight. People were staring and Ino preened under their attention.

"Are you ready to leave?" Sakura asked, staying close to her childhood friend. The cab was coming around the front of the building and Ino's apartment complex was close by. They would been back in their rooms in twenty minutes, tops.

Ino mumbled something but ducked her head and latched on to Sakura. Sighing, Sakura led Ino out, wishing their host and hostess, a brother sister pair in the fashion business, a good night.

Ino snuggled in the elevator, the cab, and the lobby to their apartment. Thankfully the doorman recognized Ino right away and let them in without ID. On the way up to their floor, Ino's legs started to give out as she became sleepier and sleepier. But before she could pitch sideways Sakura grabbed her friend's arms and heaved Ino up onto her back to carry the rest of the way, huffing about how heavy models were when they were deceptively so thin.

It was also Sakura's pseudo job to take care of Ino on night's like these. Because Sakura both refused to take a hand out and also couldn't actually afford to live with Ino, she had accepted a sort of live in maid status. She cooked specific meals for Ino, kept track of her appointments, scheduled things for her, ran errands, watched out for her, and took care of her when she was flat out drunk. It was one of the reasons Sakura even bothered coming to the parties in the city. It was a rare night when Karin could sneak in an invite as well.

"No, you're not allowed to fall asleep without brushing your teeth. You have a photoshoot tomorrow night. I don't care what you've told me about vodka teeth stains being good for you," Sakura grumbled, coming back into Ino's room after changing the girl out of her party dress and into a nightgown. Her heels were tucked away in the closet where they had come from originally.

Sakura pinched Ino's cheek before grabbing her jaw and placing the toothbrush in Ino's hand. Ino moaned, glaring from under her cleaned off lashes. Sakura knew Ino wanted sleep, and her body needed it, but Ino already made too many poor decisions on her own.

Sakura lays her hand over Ino's and helps her get started, but Ino finishes on her own. Washing her mouth out she begins to sit down under the sink when Sakura groans, swooping in to grab her friend and drag her back to the bed. Ino doesn't make it easy for her and by the time she's under her covers Sakura is exhausted.

"Don't go back to your own bed."

Sakura looks down at Ino. She can't tell if Ino's truly awake or talking through her sleep. She started to leave the bed but Ino's hand is a vice to Sakura's wrist.

"You get super clingy when you're drink, just like a child. I don't remember you being this bad when we were kids."

"I never thought I would loose you when we were kids."

Sakura stills. When she turns around Ino's eyes are still closed, but they're dripping tears. "Ino…"

"You get along so well with Karin. You fight and forgive so easily. Why can't you be like that with me. I was your best friend first."

"Ino, you're tired, go to sleep."

"You'll leave me. Everybody leaves me."

Sakura wants to roll her eyes and play it all off as her friend being overly dramatic, but Ino's too out of it to be anything but honest. She's on the edge of sleep with enough booze in her bloodstream to make this a moment she won't remember.

"I never left you, Ino. You were the one who did the leaving."

"…Yeah, I know. That's why you're the only one…you're the only one who I can't loose. Nobody else but you. Don't ever leave me."

Sakura waits a moment more and hears the soft breathing of Ino's almost snores. Sakura kicks off her skirt and snuggles in next to her friend, still feeling the hand on her wrist. "Yeah, I won't leave you, Ino Pig."

* * *

The White Crown is set on your head. You seized the crook and the flail when you were (still) in the womb and had not (yet) emerged onto the earth.

-Book of the Dead

* * *

Sakura opens her eyes and she's at the end of a long corridor made from stone. Stone beneath her, around her, above her. She's in a stone tunnel with only one way to go.

She takes a step forward and stops, realizing her feet are bare and only a simple white shirt covers her. It's long enough to reach mid thigh on a she inhales the air is stagnate, warm in the uncomfortable way, and there's dust between her toes.

Dreams always felt real to her before, but this one seemed hyper real to her for some reason. There was another level, one more layer, and more depth that hadn't been there before. This kingdom was different from the others.

"You are not wrong, child."

Sakura stumbles backwards, nearly knocked over by the sound of the voice echoing off the walls around her. She staggers and then corrects her stance. Reaching out she dreams up her bone sword, feeling the texture of the different designs on the sheath in her opposite hand. She scans her narrowed surrounds on a turn, but she is alone. There is no one in the hallway with her.

"Who's there?" Sakura straightens. She tried to think back to a month ago in the last gate world and who she had heard with a voice like that? Something in her mind clicked. "Baki, is that you?"

The walls around her trembled and then they began to blur, racing pas her as the world around her shifted, she was pulled forward, down the corridor that stretched out of view. She felt the force of her motion press against her, compounding greater and greater until the walls fell away and she lurched forward, off her feet. She remembered her reflexes and prepared for the impact after curling for a rolling landing, but gravity caught her ankles and pulled her upwards.

Cursing, Sakura thrashed, spinning in mid air as the clay bricks that made up the walls began to float upwards and apart. The gaps and spaces between them were white and growing as more and more of the walls broke apart. She was falling up, up, up, and when she tilted to look in the direction she was going, she saw a room being assembled out of all the bricks that were sent floating.

Grunting, Sakura turned over in mid air and stretched out her legs. Bare toes touched down and the rest of her followed, landing in front of a man in robes as dirty white as hers. Baki was staring down at her while she straightened up.

"That felt like a waste of time. You wanted to make me sick or something?" Sakura snapped, patting dust off her shoulders. "Is this the Kingdom of Gods?"

"It soon shall be. Outside the tombs are the red sands where your journey will inevitably come to an end, one way or another. But you are not ready for that just yet."

"Red sands?" Sakura took a step back to see in better detail the wall behind Baki. There were designs in black, as well as full colored pictures as flat and two dimensional as a person would expect from an art form that didn't evolve in over three thousand years. " _Hieroglyphics_."

Sakura spun and the torches on the wall flickered to life, sparking a hungry, thick flame each. Towards the back of the room was a table where bodies were prepared and behind the table were jars with animal heads. It was enough to make her swallow.

"What is this place. Why have you brought me here?" Sakura turned back sharply. "What do you want to do with me here, Baki?"

The tall man blinked once and Sakura noticed that this time his face was free of the cloth covering that obstructed half his face in the previous dreams. This time his skin was darker, tanner, and his eyes were lined in dark liquid that made them stand out all the more. He was looking the part.

When he spoke his voice was still booming, but it stayed in the room this time. "That table isn't for you. I am no the dream killer, nor am I an actor. My role with you is neither to harm or to sabotage."

Sakura couldn't help but taste the sass on her lips when she replied. "So what is your job? You going to aid me, watch me, teach me? It's been vague what your role really is since each watcher/guide whatever has been sort of different so far."

The stone bricks under Sakura's feet groaned before shifting in a circular direction, turning her to face a different wall. The torches grew higher, shedding more light and the picture was illuminated that much better for it. Sakura felt her sass leave her as she looked up at the mural.

"What do you see?" Baki asked.

"You know what I see," Sakura growled, recovering. "It's the Obelisk. It's just, different looking."

The mural was brightly colored with a iridescent white obelisk shining rays down on the people below. The citizens in the mural were bowing, worshiping the light. Outside the rays there were people who didn't bow down. They were screaming, throwing stiff hands over themselves and dropping ash into their eyes. Even in their crude 2D way, the drawings were unsetting, but it was the top corner of the eye that unsettled Sakura the most. The top part of the Obelisk triangle wasn't blank white. No, there was an eye there, one that saw all.

"What do you know of the Obelisk?" Baki asked from behind her.

Sakura stared down the wall, seeing more illustrations that were harder to make out without the light. "I know it's the key to solving each level, that I have to find it to move on. It's what the curse was trapped in when I opened it. Oh, it used to be a puzzle." Sakura nodded to the original mural. "It was probably worshiped in Egypt once upon a time, eh? Somehow it became a curse."

"A curse?" Baki echoed. "You think it is a curse?"

Sakura snorted. "Of course it's a curse. My life has been hell because of it."

When Baki chuckled the walls vibrated. Sakura glared back over her shoulder at the mad who laughed at her suffering. He though it was funny to compare what she went through to hell? She didn't say that lightly.

"What's so funny?" Sakura snapped.

The floor shifted again and Baki was beside her in front of a new mural of a man standing in the light of a black Obelisk. On the other side of the same mural the man stood in the same light of a white Obelisk, adorned with a traditional headdress and arms lifted above his head with a staff and some other instrument.

"You were ignorant to the ways of the Obelisk when you solved her puzzle, but the Obelisk is no curse."

"What the hell are you saying? You think anyone would want what I went through? People have been trying to kill me in each and every world I enter. I've bleed, I've cried, I've watched friends die. Damn it, I've killed people. What part of any of that doesn't sound like a curse to you?"

"Trials to test your worthiness."

Sakura hissed, stomping a foot down. "Bullshit. I never would have opened that thing if I knew this would happen. This is no test of worthiness."

"Maybe it does not seem that way to you." Baki stepped around her to stand in front of the painting. He touched the drawing of the ray of light, tracing it. "But you are mistaken. The Obelisk is no curse, and it is far older than the Egyptians, but they were the first to harness it and contain it for themselves."

Sakura looked back up at the mural and flinched when she saw the eye. It made her want to bow her head and look away. She didn't like it. "Even older than the Egyptians? Wh-what is it?"

"There was another name for it, a name they called it before in a different language. Roughly translated, the name means: 'God Maker.' Others have called it the Holy Diviner of Gods, or the Eye that Sees, but it's purpose has never changed."

"What purpose?"

Baki stepped aside so the image of the man richly dressed in the light of the white obelisk could be seen. "The power of the Obelisk was harnessed and contained as a means of choosing a mortal kings and pharos believed to be worthy of godship. The trials of the kingdoms and gates have all been designed with this in mind, to prepare the dreamer for divinity, and until you, no dreamer has entered into this word not knowing what they were competing for."

Sakura stared back at the drawing, eyes focused on the outline of the tools in the man's hands. She recognized both of them after a moment and frowned. The crook and the flail were both objects held by pharaohs and gods to show leadership. And during there rule, pharaohs were believed by the people to be gods of their own right.

"Is that how they chose the first kings in Egypt?" Sakura asked, not daring to look back up at the drawing of the eye on the Obelisk's top. "They entered the Obelisk's dreams willingly because they….they wanted to be gods. All those actors knew?"

Baki nodded. "Did you ever wonder why there were so many Uchiha? Their clan got a hold of the Obelisk before swords were banned in their country. The first to enter into the dream of the Obelisk was their strongest son, Madara Uchiha who was by blood one forth god, a demi god in his own right. It was why he was able to manipulate so much of the dream so well until his death inside the dream. His relatives and descendants attempted to follow in his footsteps for as long as the Obelisk was in their country."

"Why would they throw their lives away like that? It's hell to dream like this. I thought it was a punishment."

Baki regarded her once more with narrowed eyes. "Do not exaggerate. There were times of enjoyment for you. Where else would you be so powerful, so loved, so feared? In all your life, had you ever experienced such an adventure?"

"I didn't ask for this," Sakura snapped. "I never would have chosen this if I knew. And did you say that no one has ever solved this thing before, that the last level has never been beaten?"

"That has been said by others, yes."

"Then wouldn't people start to think that after everyone they sent into the Obelisk, it was sort of hopeless to try and send any more in? They couldn't have been that stupid?"

"Some men sacrificed all they had for a chance to be chosen in hopes of being what they could only dream of. You've walked with kings and sultans and princes and conquers."

The lights grew brighter and more of the mural was exposed. Sakura saw hoards of people throwing their fine things and offering their babies to the light. All for a chance, all for a shot of fame.

"That's horrible."

"That is what happened." He said it as a matter of fact, not up for dispute.

"But I don't want that. I don't want to win if that's what winning is for. I just want to be free I wanted the nightmares to end and for my life to go back to how it was. It wasn't perfect, but it was my life. I never wanted this sort of glory or power. It was all just a mistake."

He was in front of her again, looming. "And yet here you are, closer than all others who have come before save one. You are one of the most desired among the actors, one of the most creative in her use of powers, and the most intelligent in her solving of puzzles. These are traits that have help you along the way, be it to glory of freedom from the trials."

Sakura felt the world spin but it wasn't her head, but the actual floor tiles. She was in front of the ledge where four jars stood. Behind her was the table meant for dressing mummies. "Great," she muttered. "Now what?"

"Before you emerge into the true Kingdom of Gods, you must make a choice, one that will follow you the rest of the game. Which will you choose?"

Sakura looked down at the canopic jars, remembering how they were used by the ancient Egyptians during the mummification process to store and preserve the organs of their owner for the afterlife. Each one was special for a different part of the body, protected by a different god and goddess.

"What do you want me to do?"

"You choose your boon for this last trial, as it will be the most challenging yet. Each jaw contains a wish, be it the wish for a specific companion, a specific power, a specific landscape, or a specific enemy." He pointed to the first once and began to recite the details for each.

They were: _Hapi, the baboon-headed god representing the north, whose jar contained the lungs and was protected by the goddess Nephthys._

 _Duamutef, the jackal-headed god representing the east, whose jar contained the stomach and was protected by the goddess Neith._

 _Imseti, the human-headed god representing the south, whose jar contained the liver and was protected by the goddess Isis._

 _Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed god representing the west, whose jar contained the intestines and was protected by the goddess Serqet_.

"Which one has the specific power gift?" Sakura asked, looking each jar over.

"You will not know until your choice has been made, though clues may be picked up based on what you know of the specific jar's function. It is up to you to make the final choice. I will aid you no further on this."

"You're not making much sense right now, but leave me alone for a sec. I need to think this over. How long do I have?"

"You have the night, for however long that shall last."

"That's not cryptic at all," Sakura bit sarcastically.

Baki turned away, moving to stand in front of a dimly lit mural that Sakura couldn't make out in the dim light. Most of the room had already been illuminated, it was just that one last dark corner that remained unexposed. She had a feeling she would see what it was only after she made her choice.

Turning back to the jars Sakura looked over their heads once more. There was a human, bird, jackal, and human. In addition to not knowing what each jar did, she didn't know what she wanted. She had fair control over her powers so far. She didn't care what the terrain looked like. In regards to choosing a specific enemy, she preferred to leave that to someone else. It didn't matter very much to her one way or the other. But something nagged in the back of her mind.

Squating down to be eye level with the jars Sakura blew across the face of the human one, scattering dust into the air. The face was male and indiscriminate looking. It could have been anyone's face. But the eyes were dark and the headdress was just as dark and she felt a familiar pang. _Imseti, the human-headed god representing the south, whose jar contained the liver and was protected by the goddess Isis._

Sakura knew enough that there really wasn't a goddess more feared than Isis. Thousands of years later, her name still meant something. For whatever reason, Sakura felt like she knew what would happen when she cracked open the jar. She knew what would be offered to her and what she would choose.

"Baki," she called out. "I've made my choice."

"Shatter it and see what you have chosen then," he called from the shadows.

Sakura grabbed the jar, lifted it up, and let it smash against the floor. The room boomed as gold colored clouds rose up around her and the figure of a woman stood out of the cloud before she faded.

"A companion for you. Who do you choose?" the mother goddess asked with a voice as soft as a dove's wing.

An actor, someone from the dream, someone she missed. Sakura's mind thrummed in action, searching through a couple dozen faces of all the people she knew to be a part of the dream. Kisame her mentor, Madara who loved her, Sasori who she loved…Tsunade could teach her, Hungry could walk beside her again, and Pein could bring the rain with him. Her heart ached when she though of red hair and lazy eyes that watched her with adoration that made her melt.

Between her toes the fragmented shards of the jar lay scattered. One with the eye of the face stared up at her and her resolve grew.

"I am in the Kingdom of the Gods and I will not be broken by it. I have made my choice," Sakura declared, pulling herself up to her full height.

She pictured his face in her mind and the goddess became light, flashing all around her until the room was empty again, except for the three figures left standing on the stone.

Sakura swallowed, blinking to make sure she was seeing things correctly. "Did it work?"

He hesitantly reached for her. A second later an almost smile came onto his face. "I knew you would make it this far, Sakura." The wound from where she severed his head from his neck was gone, and Sai stood before her whole once more. "Thank you for bringing me back."

Sakura felt light all of a sudden and the world around her began to pull apart again. The dream was ending, but Sai was back, he was back, he was back, and he was in front of her.

"No problem," she laughed. "No problem at all."

* * *

 **UPDADE** : Ibiki has been replaced with Baki in this version. Sakura's guide for the last desert themed world is Baki, **Baki** a jōnin of Sunagakure and a member of its advisory council. He's the dude from Suna. I got his name and Ibiki Morino's name mixed up, I apologize.

AN:/ I finished this six minutes ago and I'm off to my part time work so I'll see about coming back to it later, but there we go. Not really a good first look into the Kingdom, but I think the reveal at the end was worth it. A good way to end the chapter. To all of you who were sad to see Sai go, I knew I was going to do this one way or another. Another idea I tossed around was bringing him back as a cat that helped her secretly, but I like this way too.

Please remember to review, because really, that's what sustains me.


	7. Chapter 7

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

"But the past cannot be changed, and we carry our choices with us, forward, into the unknown. We can only move on."  
— Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing

* * *

The next night when she dreamed, a part of her was anxious and another part of her was afraid for what would happen, but most of her was excited for what would be there when she opened her eyes in the dream.

The world she came awake in was similar to the one she had been trapped in last time she dreamed. It was a tunnel of stone and clay bricks. He sat on the ledge overlooking a maze of stairs and arches that led anywhere and everywhere.

She took a step forward and he looked up, hearing her approach. "You're back," he said in the same matter of fact tone she knew him by.

"Yeah, but that's not what we're surprised about, is it? Isn't you being back a bigger deal?" Sakura teased, leaning down to sit beside her friend and dangle her legs off the edge as well. It felt good to let them swing freely.

Sai looked away from her face out across the maze pit. "I had not expected a second chance. I wondered if you would not chose the actor who's heart yours reached for, and compared to that, I doubted ever being able to see you again." He paused before adding, "Sasori would have helped you well, but not as well as I."

Sakura grinned, looking at the stairs and pits and arches and paths beyond her feet in the space below. "I know. I chose you because I…care for you Sai. I feel close to you as a friend, and that's such an inadequate word for it, but I cherish you as a great friend. I wanted you back so many times, I wanted your voice and you guidance, your help, your encouragement, and your belief in me. You don't know how many times I've missed you."

Sai's brows creased, creating wrinkles across his forehead. "You've done well enough to make it this far on your own. The actors grow less helpful the deeper you go into the dream."

"Yeah, I noticed that. But aside from that, I think if I had chosen Sasori it would have been because I wanted a beautiful distraction. I don't know if I would ever be able to make it out of this world if I had him at my side."

Sai wasn't an expressive person, but when Sakura looked over at him she caught a sly sort of smile trying to tug up his lips. "Yes. He would not have done you justice in this game. Is that another reason you chose me?"

Sakura shrugged. "Who else would know more than a guide, and who else could I trust more than a guide who gave his life to help me advance through these trials? Sasori might have been fun to dream about being with, but I want to win this, I want out of this nightmare, and I intend to take the straight and narrow for that. I know it's going to be hell, and another beautiful distraction might just be what breaks me."

When Sai laughs the sound is everywhere, bouncing off the walls and filling up the void. Sakura is only slightly unnerved by the sound of it.

"Yes. How terrible for them. The world was not ready for a winner to the Obelisk until now. I can see why I first believed in you." When he looks at her Sakura doesn't doubt he will follow her to the end of everything. "You were not like the others who came before, so blind with dreams of glory, they missed the weight of the nightmare."

Sai's words trigger a memory in Sakura and she turns away before Sai can see her expression sullen. "Blind with glory or blind with godhood? You never told me what the Obelisk really was. I thought it was a curse, a means of punishment."

"Was Madara really that bad?"

Sakura's face burns as she turns to glare at the boy who never joked. He seems more expressive now, lighter, freer, less restricted in her presence. "Did you just make a joke?"

"You've had a terrible effect on me," he said.

"I'm not sure if I can get used to this," Sakura grumbled.

Sai's eyes are more reflective, taking in everything, but he looks away from her when he speaks. "Would you have done as well as you have, come as far as you have, fought as hard as you have if you knew the truth? Your misconception fueled your desire to finish the worlds and progress through the trials with a unique purpose. You wanted such a humble thing. You will make a fine god."

Sakura stands up, scrambling off and away from the ledge. "No!" The dust under her toes makes miniature clouds around her ankles from her hasty movements. "No, that's not going to happen. I'm not going to become a…a…"

"You're understanding of godhood is extravagantly grand, but Shiva, Apollo and Isis were flawed creatures with plenty of sins between them. They existed in great power for generations and ages in many cultures with many names before their end. Gods die, new ones rise, that is the way of things. Things we can not touch, those things last forever, but not us."

"I don't want that," she snapped.

Images of churches and cathedrals, prayer candles, saints, weeping women, and prayer beads nearly drown her. Godhood wasn't something so trivial for her. Those who still believed in God from her family made mass and communion a way of life. She had seen shrines and temples, places where pilgrims could travel to honor minor deities, but that all seemed more like a fairytale. If godhood was something a person like her had access to…if she could become a god in some random twist of fate, the idea of god was insultingly underwhelming.

"No." Sai's voice broke her train of thought. He was standing up, moving away from the ledge as well. "Do not think of it like that. I know what you know, I've been in the library of your mind and your limited language is partly to blame for this. Don't think of an incomprehensible being, but the fairytales and mythologies. Those are gods and they are not the end of the story, nor are they the beginning of anything. What you are in this world right here," he said reaching for her hand. In the palm of her hand a poppy flower bloomed. "You are a god here."

"I remember saying something like that," Sakura groaned, crushing the flower between her fingers and pulling away. "But I was being stupid and emotional and I was just so…so angry." Her heart skipped into a faster beat. "I caused so much destruction, I killed a lot of people."

"Dreams-"

"I killed them because I wanted to! I liked killing them, I liked feeling powerful. I wanted them to suffer for what they did to me. I felt justified, so very justified in all that I did because I _could_. It didn't matter if it was a dream or not, I don't think it would have mattered if it wasn't a dream. Sai, I'm capable of killing. These trials have made me into a-" her breath caught in her throat, keeping the words locked in there. "Shit, that's what's supposed to happen. In order to advance you have to be cruel, don't you?"

"Most gods are."

Sakura moaned, dropping the crushed poppy to hold her face between her hands. "Sai!" She stumbled back a step, rocking. "I can't think like that. If I won, if I won and took those powers with me into the waking world I would be a monster. I would end up killing someone one day."

"It's not the same. Here is not there."

She dropped her hands from her face and grabbed him around the shoulders. He wasn't much taller than her, so when she held him close they were nearly eye level, with him being the taller person by a handful of inches. She squeezed his arms, looking up into his eyes. "Sai, you said you thought I could beat this thing, you said you believed in me. Was it because you thought I was cruel? Did you think I would win because you saw something dark in me?"

He didn't shake her off, but reached up to touch her elbows, holding her where she shook. "Many men before you have been cruel, few have been kind, others have been viscous beyond description. When they dreamed, they dreamed selfishly with narrow minds and narrower imaginations. I never believed in any of them and I did not believe in you because you were cruel or kind."

Sakura felt grass underneath her feet and the cracks between the stones began to sprout a bed. It wasn't much, but when she looked over her shoulder down the hall she saw the body of a white deer, and then a couple of doe. Between then the shadow of a horned king walked. She blinked and the vision was over.

 _Shikamaru and the deers_

"Cruel as you may believe yourself to be, we do not believe in you because of it. This dream loves you in a way I've never seen before. Manipulating it comes so easily to you after all this time. The confines and restrictions other actors have tried to put on you were broken by your will. All actors are lovers of the dreamer, but never has a dreamer been so widely loved as you."

Sakura felt herself shaking and dropped her head to his shoulder. "You didn't see the last gate. They nearly killed me."

"They were supposed to. The Gate of Bones, or the Gladiator Boneyard was meant to be a loveless, hopeless wasteland. No one should have adored you there, and yet…"

It still hurt to remember. "Kiba protected me."

Sai nodded. "Also, the one who was meant to be your tormenter was more conflicted over you than he should have been. Indra and his brother were almost gods themselves, thanks to their bloodlines. Alas, godhood was not for them. They carried that darkness with them into this state of existence, bitter at their loss and tormenting others who attempt to do what they could not. He should have done far worse to you than a kiss or two."

Sakura made a noise of embarrassment and turned her face away in Sai's shoulder. Exhaling she felt her fingers again and pushed away, straightening up and pushing down the front of her dirty shirt-dress from the night previous. She felt the rough fabric under her fingertips and focused on that to help ground her. She trailed her hands down the front of her shirt again and again calming down with each pass.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yeah. I think it would just be better if I didn't think about it right now. I need to take this one step at a time, one thing at a time. You were right, this was easier when all I had to worry about was dying. I'll think about the godhood stuff after I win. For now, it's a bit conceited to think that's really something I have to worry about. Didn't you say this was the hardest kingdom?"

Sai hummed, taking her by the wrist and tugging her along. "Yes, typically it is. However, your strengths and weaknesses are well suited to this world. You can manipulate the dream with fluidity and have a mind for puzzles. In this world, there are fewer actors and more horrors."

"Wait a jog-what's my weakness? What do you think is my weak point?"

Sai pulled her along and Sakura followed willing, even as they approached the head of a staircase that led to another tunnel. "Your compassion for the dead is misplaced. You care too much for these actors." They started to trot down the stairs and Sai let go of her wrist to trust her to follow on her own. "Though they seem to care for you just as well, so maybe it is not a weakness, only a distraction."

She huffed, following him down the stairs and onto the landing that turned into an path under an arch. "If you say so. Where are you taking me now?"

His responding chirp was deceptively cherry. "To the first of four tasks meant to kill you."

"Of course."

Sakura kept her mouth shut as Sai led her through a labyrinth of halls and turns, both up and down staircases in seemingly no coherent order. The walls were painted in places and Sakura noted with a sick roll of revulsion that so many of the murals were illustrations of actors who had traveled through the dream in the past. Most of the illustrations were of how the past dreamers died. A few were recognizable as actors.

She almost paused when she saw one that couldn't have been an actor, even though it followed the pattern of all the others. The man in the center of the art piece was more creature than human with curling horns and long feathered wings. He was breathing fire into a horde of hands coming up from underneath him. He stood atop a pile of dead bodies, blackened from flame.

"Sakura?"

When she turned Sai was walking back towards her. He glanced at the mural and then down at her with a knowing look. "Madara came very close. He understood how to manipulate the dream well."

"That's Madara?" Sakura asked, eyes darting back to the body in the middle of the piece, searching for a sign she could recognize. Black wings made sense, the horns, and the fire were also logical clues, but there was something about him that didn't look or feel like the Madara she had gotten to know in the previous kingdom.

Sai shrugged. "He was one of the more popular dreamers in our history. He got far, but after his death in the last kingdom it seemed like every son he sired made an attempt to do what he could not. So many of his kin have been forgotten by the Obelisk. You've seen only a fraction of the decedents of his once proud clan."

Sakura felt Sai tug on her wrist and turned away from the picture to follow her friend down another set of stairs and through a tunnel of stone before emerging in a new room that looked to be at the bottom of the bit, since Sakura could see dozens of staircases in and around the walls above her.

"I'm not going to ask how that made sense, we didn't go down enough stairs to be at the bottom."

"Did you forget who I am? I am the Sigh of Dejection, the boy who guides the Appointed, bane of hate, bastard born, ash formed, and the knower of hidden ways." He looked backwards at her over his shoulder, eyes gleaming with memory and mirth.

"Do these count as secret ways?" Sakura asked, waving a hand around her at the walls and floors above her.

Sai nodded. "Anything built in the dream, with few exceptions, is known to me. I am the knower of hidden ways as well as puzzles and paths you may encounter. I will be able to help you circumvent the world you are trapped in better than any actor. But, you knew I would be useful to you when you chose me over the redhead."

"Maybe the thought crossed my mind."

Sai took a few steps towards one of the walls and touched the outline of the mural. "Here, this is where we must begin."

The mural was different from the others, drawn in a different style that suited ballpoint pens and wood prints better than the flat forms on stone that Egyptian art was known for. The wall had two murals carved into it's stone, and the wall directly opposite it had two as well. When Sakura turned, she saw that each of the four walls that made up the open room had a pair of murals decorating it in the same bizarre style.

The first of the two murals on wall one was larger and the more dominate art piece, while the other was less mural and more hyrogliphics. Sakura had to take a step back to see it all. It was a creature, not quite beast and not quite like any monster she knew about. It had the upper body and arms of a old wrinkled human with fingers too long and pointed to be quite right. The body beneath the rib cage was a writhing mess of tentacle like appendages curling and rolling each other. The creature floated above a water source against a black sky. When Sakura tilted her head back to look at it's face she saw something that looked more like a knot in a tree's trunk. The head was a hole between twisted and withered flesh. It's face was void and watching.

"What is that thing?" Sakura asked, almost afraid to speak in fear of this creature painted four times as large as her.

"It is the Crawling Chaos. One of the primordial creatures birthed out of what gave the Obelisk it's power. Before the Egyptians from ancient times sealed the power away inside the Obelisk you hold on your nightstand, it was a free roaming power that birthed four terrible creatures. Bastard gods." Sai pointed. "This is the first of them, the Crawling Chaos, but it goes by many other names. God of a Thousand Forms, Stalker among the Stars, Black Pharaoh, Faceless God, Messenger of the Other Gods, and so on."

"Sounds pleasant."

"You'll have to fight it."

Sakura gut dropped like a stone in a pit. She had faced down monsters and beasts before. One more shouldn't be a big deal, but for some reason this one was. This one felt like it was…a whole other level.

Swallowing her fear and masking her discomfort with an easy shrug of her shoulders, Sakura waved to the drawing. "Yeah, no big deal. I can take one on."

"You'll have to take the other three on as well."

Sakura couldn't hide the way she flinched. "Four? Why are there four of them?"

"Because this is the Kingdom of Gods and it's not meant to be easy for you to attain godhood. Did you expect someone to hold your hand at the end?"

"I didn't say I couldn't do it," Sakura bit out, looking back at the Crawling Chaos on the wall. It wasn't the most terrifying image she had ever seen, but it still chilled her in a way that couldn't be rationalized by mere visual study. "I've done hard things before."

Sai watched her a moment before adding. "At the center of this world you will find the Obelisk, but it is surrounded by a never ending sandstorm that is impossible to pass through. Defeating the four gods and sealing their remains in stone tablets will end the storm, allowing you access to the Obelisk."

"How do you know this?" Sakura asked.

"That is how it has always been. Every other kingdom has been something constructed out of the dreamer's memories and dreams, but this is the only world that never changes. These gods can not be erased from the dream's narrative, and so this world remains unchanged. You were wise to summon me for more than this reason, but one of my roles was to help build the secrets of this world. I will know how to guide you, but the trails are for you to face."

"You're not going to be my support companion in battle?" Sakura teased, imagining Sai equipped with a standard melee weapon for the first time, following her around and getting his butt handed to him when he didn't know what to do.

"I have many skills, but that is not one of them," he admitted freely.

She could have asked for Kisame, but she didn't. She chose Sai and she wouldn't regret it.

Her voice was firm when she spoke. "Show me the other gods."

Sai took her to each of the remaining three walls, one at a time. The Deamon Sultan, The Black Goat of a Thousand Young, and lastly, The Key and the Gate. Each was terrifying in it's own way, each sent chills down her spine. Sai told her about each, about how they were named, why they were named as they were, and what she could expect when she encountered each.

"At the base of this tomb the Crawling Chaos resides. The other three will be for us to find, but in the past they have either been hidden in similar tombs or ensnared by rulers. I suspect, there is at least one Pharaoh in this version of the Kingdom of Gods that you must face."

"Only one?"

Sai shrugged. "Sometimes there are two, of upper and lower Egypt, who fight for power. Sometimes the king of the thieves is an enemy, and sometimes the priests are warmongers, I only know of the unchanging things. All else is left to Baki to decide."

"What do you think he'll decide?"

"Baki is the most difficult to predict, as his motives are the least tangible, but I think it would be safe to say it will depend on how much he likes you. He knows you have an unnaturally strong sway over the other actors, and even the ones most famous for their hatred of the dreamer are reluctant to oppose you. If he likes you we will see more actors. If not…wild gods in the desert."

"I'm not sure which I'm more terrified of."

Sai suddenly jerked his head off, staring off into the darkness of a far off corner. Sakura opened her mouth to ask him about it when she felt it too, the tug of the dream ending. She would be waking up soon, and it was about time. She felt like she had spent days walking and talking with Sai, but knew it couldn't have been that long…could it?

"In the last world, the last gate, I dreamed for several days in the curse's world before waking, but when I did truly wake, only hours had passed, why is that?"

The dream was closing in, Sakura could feel it tugging for her. She pulled back, just enough to stay the extra minute she needed to hear Sai answer her question. She would leave only after she heard him speak.

"You let the dream take too much of you. Never let it ever forget again who is the master here." Sai's gaze held her's firm as the rest of the world bled into white around him. She felt light, like she was filled with feathers and air. "You are the master of our worlds, Sakura."

* * *

Sakura blinked and the world was crisp and clean: a world of Ino's generosity. Another blink and she felt the fullness of waking come over her. She knew exactly where she was and what she was doing there.

Seconds later a high pitched scream from the next room over drew her upright. Sakura's body was taunt like a drawn bowstring before reality forced her to relax. It was only Ino getting excited about something. There was nothing to fear here. She was in the real world. There was nothing dangerous here that wanted to kill her. She was fine.

There were heavy footsteps and then Ino's slender frame was filling up the doorway, her hands high above her head as she waved her phone. "I got the part. They chose me!" she screamed.

Sakura had only enough time to brace for impact before Ino had launched herself across the room to land, bouncing, on Sakura's bed. She was a mess of giggles, reaching for her friend.

"I'm glad for you. You don't mind that it's the part of the villain?" Sakura asked.

"Are you kidding me, it's the best part. I get to wear pretty things and be mean. Plus, I have an awesome laugh already picked out for it and everything. You wanna hear it?"

Sakura yawned before falling back into the sheets. "Yeah why not?"

* * *

Sakura had expected to face the Crawling Chaos right away, but Sai told her that while he knew how to navigate the labyrinth of traps set up to confuse the dreamer, he wanted to take time to teach her all he knew about the Obelisk and the history of its magic. There were many tests set up along the way, puzzles she dismantled with ease and effort alike. Sai only had to help her once, when she ran out of hands to hold puzzle pieces that would begin to burn if in the palm too long.

A week later, Sakura felt safer and stronger as she walked the halls alongside her friend. They had cleared out most of the traps and made an easy path from the Mural of the Four Gods room to where Sai knew the Crawling Chaos slumbered. He wanted her not to engage it until she was ready, and she hadn't been in much of a hurry.

When she awoke she was in the center of the mural room, but she was alone. She blinked and turned, searching for Sai, and not seeing him anywhere. She called out his name, but only silence echoed back. That was odd. Sai was always there for her when she woke up, or if he wasn't, he was close by that he could come running after a minute or two. It had already been a couple of minutes and the stillness stretched too far, too deep. Even when she called again and again, nothing moved. The stones refused to even echo her call.

This time was different; Sakura felt it in her bones ringing like truth. Different, different, different, different….

"Who's there."

Silence.

Sakura viewed the four exits to the room, one for each wall, and slipped off through the exit closest to the drawing of the Crawling Chaos. Most of the traps had been disabled. There was only one remaining danger between the stones and she didn't want to waste time thinking Sai could be anywhere else. She needed to check and make sure he was safe. She would not loose him again to anything or anyone.

Her footsteps were the only sound, dull and soft as she traced backwards the memorized path to where she knew the malformed god slumbered. A line of red made her skid to a halt. On the ground in front of her someone had drawn an arrow in blood. There was no way to know who's blood it was, but Sakura didn't doubt it was anyone other than Sai's blood on the floor in front of her.

Sakura cursed and took off like a bullet down the hall, not knowing what had happened. She had only been gone a few hours from the dream, and things happened so rarely when she wasn't there. Nothing was supposed to happen. They were underground and lost in a maze. Nothing was supposed to happen. Nothing was supposed to happen to Sai. Nothing was supposed to happen to him!

The looming doors to the Chamber of Chaos-the room where the Crawling Chaos slept- were opened. Sakura stopped suddenly, heart twisted at the blood on the edge of the door without handles. They hadn't been left open wide, but there was enough room for a person to slip in and out.

Sakura wanted to feel anger so easily, but she stopped herself from drowning in her heart's emotions, it was what Sai warned her about. She needed to focus, and she didn't dare be anything less than her very best if she needed to rescue Sai. There was no way that's not what this was. Sai needed to be rescued, nothing terrible had happened to him without her yet. He was fine, he would be fine once she got to him. He would be fine, he would be fine, fine, fine….

Sakura dreamed up her bone sword and the armor from the last world. It was flexible and strong as woven spider silk. At her hip a gun rested in it's ivory holster. It would do little against a god-only holy blades or sacred blades like her bone sword would be enough to kill it, but distractions could be the difference between life or death.

Armored, Sakura stepped into the chamber, noticing the grand display of steps leading down to a shallow hall, higher and wider than any other room she had discovered with Sai. It was poorly lit, but she could see enough to make out a raised platform towards the center of the room.

Sakura advanced a step, and then another. The more steps she took, the higher the flames burned, chasing away the darkness from the cavern. The walls were lined in reflective bronze, making the room glitter.

"Child!" a voice laughed from behind the rise in the floor.

Sakura stopped, waiting for the torches' fires to rise enough to see the room in detail. A figure stood in front of the raise, hooded and slender with one hand peeking through the folds of his robe to hold it all in place. Sakura saw red staining his hand and smelled it for what it was even from so far away.

"What have you done with Sai?" Sakura snarled, hating how fear made her heart skip. She had gone too long without Sai, she had been missing him for too many dreams to loose him now, not when she just got him back. She wouldn't loose him again!

"Child dreamer, child dreamer, when she dances the world grow clearer," the figure sang in a voice that wasn't truly male or female to her ears.

The hooded figure lifted it's head up and the robe's shadow receded far enough that Sakura through she could see the face of a woman. But in the low light the woman's eyes shimmered like sour honey. Yellow eyes slit like a snake's.

Snake eyes.

"Orochimaru!" Sakura roared, eyes widening. "You're a dream killer. You were defeated. You have no place here!"

The figure laughed and it was a tither the filled up the whole room in an unsettling way. "How clever for a dreamer, yet you do not speak truth. Orochimaru may be a name of mine from another place, but I am the Woman from the Grass when you meet me in the Kingdom of Gods, and I am your Dream Killer."

"Nice to meet you Snake Eyes with a vagina, now you ready to go or do I need to introduce myself. I'm in a hurry. I need to find my friend." Sakura eased into a prepared stance, feeling confident. She had no limits. The dreamworld couldn't hold her back, couldn't keep her down. She wasn't going to be stopped here.

"There's no need for that. Your friend is already here." The woman moved tot he side and behind the tail of her cloak Sakura saw the trail of red leading up to the table in the center of the room. Stretched out across it was Sai, tied down and unconscious. His clothes had been torn to shred and his chest, scraped and bleeding, still rose and fell as he breathed. He was alive, but just barely.

Sakura felt anger pool like coper in the back of her mouth. She wanted to tear the woman apart with her teeth. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"Didn't he tell you a sacrifice was necessary to summon the Crawling Chaos out of its den. These levels go so much deeper, deep enough that men might fall forever if they leave the ledge. Nothing less than the scent of fresh blood from an offering will raise it from it's sleep. You wanted to fight the thing, did you not?"

"Sai sin't a part of this. Let him go."

The woman hummed into her bloody hand before trailing a long tongue down her digits. "Not true, he has everything to do with this game. He's gone and made himself an important player for you, and he's too valuable for that. He needed to go."

Not Sai, not Sai, not him, not Sai, not Sai, not him, not Sai, not _SAI_!

Sakura ran so her sword cut the wind. The woman was moving backwards, drifting over the stones like a wraith when Sakura swung. She imagined her blade longer than it was, and the reach extended in mid swing, slicing through the bloody cloak.

The woman howled in laughter as Sakura passed right through, stumbling only slightly. "My curse, my curse, my curse," the woman chanted, dancing backwards in something like a jig. "I can't touch you and you can't touch me, but the belly of the beast is where you'll sleep."

No sooner had the words been spoken than the chamber they were both in shook. A great vibration loosened the stone and unsettled the dust. Sakura tensed, glancing off into the darkness where a deep maw opened up in the center of the floor there. Something moist and heavy was crawling up from there.

Sakura felt a breeze and turned to swing at the woman again, but the dream killer was gone. The door to the room fell shut on a bang, sealing her in. Sakura cursed, feeling the god draw closer the way a woman with broken bones feels a storm rolling in.

"Sai," Sakura gasped, rushing to the stone table where her unconscious friend bleed. "Damn it Sai, you better be okay." He wasn't tied down, and the drag across his chest wasn't deep enough to be worried about. Sakura reached over and slapped her friend across his face. He twitch and then his eyes fluttered open.

"Sakura?"

"Shit, don't scare me like that. Are you okay? How did you get like this?"

Sai blinked, and Sakura recognized the manner of his movements from too many nights taking care of less sober friends. Sai was out of it. He blinked again and then swallowed, trying to squint to see her better. "…Sakura?"

"Yeah, okay princess, we'll talk later. I'm getting you somewhere less in the way. I've played enough video games to know how this is going to go and you are not going to end up collateral damage."

"Saaaakura," Sai sighed, reaching for her as she tugged on what was left of his belt loop to get him moving. He sighed, falling against her shoulder and limping off towards the side of the room behind the pillars. He murmured her name into her shoulder and than yawned before dropping his eyes closed again.

"You're so lucky I like you and that I know what I'm doing with you. Things are going to get messy in here."

Sakura knew what the rumblings were, she knew what they meant. She had played enough video games and coached Ino through enough boss battles to know what was coming next without a shadow of doubt. She didn't have much time left, but she was sure she would have enough time as she found an alcove mostly out of the way, big enough for someone to kneel inside of. All the other alcoves of similar make and design had pottery in their spaces.

Sakura reached into the dream and pulled out a shield, solid as steel and too impossibly heavy to be useful in battle. She heaved it up and dropped it's spiked end into the ground in front of Sai, barricading him in. He lightly punched the steel and Sakura growled a warning.

"It's for your own good. This will protect you when I can't." When Sai tried to push it away Sakura slapped his hand. "No, you need to stay here. You can't help me this time and you're still out of it. Stay here and stay quiet."

"Sakura-"

"I said stay quiet!"

He looked at her once and for a moment he almost seemed lucid, but when he tried to push through he shield once more Sakura knew he couldn't be trusted. He wasn't in the right state of mind and the Crawling Chaos was drawing closer.

Sakura pushed him back and then dreamed into her hand a cloth thick with chloroform. He didn't even struggle as she helped him to sleep, slumped in an alcove. Sai was always pale, but he looked even more so against the dark stones in the dim light. The blood on his chest had clotted and wasn't running anymore, but it still stood out starkly against the rest of his chest.

"I am not loosing you again," Sakura swore softly as a lightweight helmet grew around her head, shielding her on all sides.

She braced with the handle of her bone sword secure between her only part of her body not covered in flexible armor was the palms of her hands and the underside of her fingers. She felt the texture of her sword, felt the weight of it too.

The rumblings of the room around her grew in intensity and frequency, compounding louder and harsher till it felt like there was an ocean behind her ears. Loose stone fell and dust jumped from every crevice. Sakura focused on her breathing, on her stance. The world was a thing of thunder around her until suddenly, it wasn't.

Unearthly silence and stillness made her want to fall apart the way a sudden stop on a roller coaster would. Even the dust and the dirt seemed stunned. She noticed flecks caught in mid air, forsaken by gravity as they floated between the surfaces. The skin on her arms under her armor stood up.

Without a sound the behemoth of tentacles and darkness oozed out of it's hole one silent strides. It came up from the deep and then it kept coming, and coming, and coming, and coming.

'Stance, don't forget it!' Kisame's voice snarled in her ear. He had been the one to guide her through her fights with tailed beasts much larger than her. She would need to remember his wisdom.

Sakura summoned a set of daggers like a halo around her head. With an exhale the band of blades expanded and turned so that they were parallel with the horizontal floor. When on of the tentacles uncurled closer to her than the others, she shot off one of the daggers to stab it clear through. By the time her blade made contact, it wasn't a dagger anymore, but a blade thick and long as any Welsh two handed weapon.

When it hissed Sakura felt her ears bleed and dreamed a guard for her mouth so her teeth had something to bite into. Her jaw ached as the bones of her teeth screamed in pain.

She fired another two daggers into the bulk of it's body.

With a ghost of memory Sakura flew behind a pillar just as a shadow crashed into the ground where she once stood. The tentacles of the god were not all the same. Some were fatter and heaver than the others, requiring more effort to pick up and move. Others were thin and fast like the ends of whips. One of those wrapped around the pillar she stood behind and pulled, bringing stone and dust down where Sakura once stood. She was already gone, raising her sword up and bringing it down across the length of the god's tentacle. It severed in a hissing gush of blackest ink.

A pair of tentacles came at her from different directions and Sakura fell backwards, rolling ungracefully away and shooting off another set of daggers that hit like broadswords. She looked up, pleased to see they hit something, only to frown when she realized they didn't do enough harm to stop the next volley of swipes.

Sakura was suddenly on the defensive, racing and running backwards and forwards to avoid being squashed. She dreamed up another dozen daggers to fly around her, catching and protecting her from the things that aimed for her back. She lost them to the swipes as quickly as she could dream them up. If stamina had been something she was limited on, she would have already been dead.

'And we started out so well,' Sakura moaned to herself, ducking behind another pillar only to have it swiped into rubble.

Cursing Sakura dreamed up a heavy shield to hold above her while the rocks came down. Reaching to her side, she put her sword away to grab her gun and poked it over the edge of her shield. Arms were raising up, preparing to crash down on top of her. Sakura pulled the trigger and her gun was a rocket launcher before it fired, raining hell and fire down on the underside of the god's body. Ink spilled everywhere and Sakura took the distraction for what it was.

Her lovely armor had been dyed black, blending her into the shadows around her. Where she struck with her gun the wound was already healing, unlike the strikes from her sword. Her projectile daggers did longer lasting damage, but even their blades weren't enough to make the wounds permanent. If she wanted to kill this thing, she would have to get close.

Sakura saw stairs in her mind, made out of stone and connected to nothing, floating in air as solid as ever. Rubble rose up to make what she dreamed and she ran for it, climbing up and up for height that would put her above the thing that crawled from the deep.

She was nearly there when the entire body of the Crawling Chaos shifted, heaving upwards to crash against her stairs and crash against her. Sakura fell on the lower body of the creature and stabbed her sword down to keep herself from tumbling into the writhing lower half. She struck solid meat and gold, molten gold, gushed from the wound. Where it fell it stung like acid, burning through her armor.

Sakura screamed and fell away from her sword, rolling down the body and across the floor.

" **FOOLISH CHILD** ," it scratched with a voice like knives being sharpened. Sakura felt blood in her ears. " **NO MAN HAS EVER BESTED ME, ME THE ONE WITH NO END, ME THE FACELESS GOD OF A THOUSAND FORMS, ME WHO STALKS AMONG THE STARS, THE BLACK PHARAOH, THE GOD WHO HELODS, YOU DARE DRAW MY ICHOR?"**

A human hand of black bone reaching out and grabbed where her sword still stuck out of it's upper body. It hissed at the touch but yanked it clean off and tossed it across the room. Sakura screamed when she saw it spin into the black maw in the back of the room, swallowed up by darkness.

The god was bleeding gold, it was speaking to her in anger. Sakura had done real damage, but her weapon was gone and her body was broken in places. She could feel her bones scream when she breathed. Her ribs were smashed.

The god screeched again, looming closer in a swirling mass of black. " **NO MAN HAS EVER BESTED ME AND NONE EVER SHALL."**

She saw it raise up the whole front of it'sefl to bring down on top of her and Sakura snarled against the pain, struggling to right herself in time. She had handed close to where Sai hid and she knew if she moved his hiding space would suffer the blow.

" _You let the dream take too much of you. Never let it ever forget again who is the master here." Sai's gaze held her's firm as the rest of the world bled into white around him. She felt light, like she was filled with feathers and air. "You are the master of our worlds, Sakura._ "

Sakura felt the burn between her breastbones and drew from her chest the hilt of her bone sword. Her body was broken, but she forced herself to stand without her armor, dirty and stained black and gold with both god blood and ichor.

Feeling oddly sentimental, Sakura shook the remains of her helmet away and her short hair was a halo around her head. "I'm not a man."

The god came down on her and Sakura poured as much of herself as she could into her sword as she cut upwards. The blade of chakra danced away from her swing and cut up into the writhing mass like a knife through hot butter. Black rained down as the creature writhed and Sakura summoned the stairs again. It was so much harder to mount them, and she knew she was slower reaching the top, but the burns and broken bones wouldn't mean anything to her if she didn't survive. She felt her chakra, the magic of the dream world, flutter around inside the palms of her hands. It was erratic and wild. She had enough of it, but could she contain it.

The upper half of the creature looked backwards, up at her and Sakura saw it's void like face, yawning, stretching, expanding beneath her. She stared into the eye of a black hole. She was frozen in place, her pain magnified as the hole kept her petrified. The rest of the world faded away as the hole grew bigger. No-it wasn't bigger, she was just getting closer.

Teeth, teeth, there were teeth all around her, some were in her thigh, others were hovering.

'No man has ever bested me and none ever shall,' a voice tore into her brain. It was the voice of truth and it spoke truth and only truth; she knew that in her crushed and broken bones. The truth of it. No man would ever best the Crawling Chaos, it had been seen and known and recorded ten thousand years ago when they first fell to earth. No man, no man, no man, no man, no man-

 _'You are the master of our worlds, Sakura.'_

Sakura screamed, opening her eyes and ramming her sword down into the void face of the god that already had her half devoured. She couldn't see anything but darkness past her thighs, but her sword hit something when she rammed it down between her knees. It felt like spearing meat.

Sakura's ears bled red as the god roared in a voice she had never heard before. It wailed and screamed and then it screamed even more, but Sakura couldn't hear any of it. She was in a vacuum without sound. She was lost somewhere in space. It was still screaming, but she couldn't hear it anymore; the wold was a quiet calm.

Sakura felt like sobbing but she pushed her sword down further, further, till the hilt was at her ankles and her wrists were sucked into darkness. Something like an egg shattered beneath her feet and molten gold oozed out around her, sucking her down, swallowing her in.

She was broken with too few whole bones left, her head was a bleeding mess, her ears couldn't hear, and her body was drowned in burning gold. She couldn't hear it, but Sakura knew she was screaming.

* * *

Wounds of the dream are not wounds of the waking world, but they can not be severed.

* * *

When Sakura woke up she was in pain. She didn't know anything else, but she knew she was in pain. Moving her fingers was all she could do. She felt dampness on her face and knew she was crying. The pain was great. The pain was everywhere, the pain was all around her. The pain was all she knew.

She passed out again.

When she awoke she knew time had passed, but she didn't know how much. She was still in pain, but she was able to think. There was no sound in the world around her, and when she moved she though she could hear her own bones groaning in pain from their broken settings, but she knew that was her brain trying to invent sounds to fill the void.

She shifted in the dirt and stilled.

Dirt.

Sakura gasped, leaning her head back to see around her. Crawling branches new with apples that weren't yet in season surrounded her. Apple season was another month or two away. Apples? She was in an apple orchard. _She was in an apple orchard!_ She wasn't in Ino's apartment anymore. She likely wasn't even near the city anymore.

She felt something in the earth and looked up. There were shoes, and then the body of an old man dressed in worn old overalls faded at the knees. He was staring at her in horror and Sakura guessed she didn't look pretty.

"Fuck."

* * *

AN:/ Okay, three for three! This is going well and I'm hoping I can update every week like this for the rest of my summer break. I will try my best to keep you guys from waiting too long because I know I hate it when I have to. I've already started writing the next chapter and have a few things to sort out (which actor gets which of the three biggest roles) but I know where I'm going.

Please remember to review, because really, that's what sustains me.


	8. Chapter 8

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

"Holy places are **dark** places. It is life and strength, not knowledge and words, that we get in them. Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water, but thick and dark like blood."

C.S. Lewis, _Till We Have Faces._

* * *

In a weird twist of fate, it was actually Jugo's grandfather that found her in the dirt of his orchard,feet naked and bleeding from the impossible walk. She had passed out again so the memory was hazy, but there were people helping her, holding her. She couldn't hear any of it, but she felt all of it.

When she was out of it all she saw were red poppies, bleeding red poppies blooming behind her eyes.

It was night when she woke up and there were people in a room around her. It wasn't the same day.

Someone held up a sign and Sakura struggled to see it.

 _One finger for I remember_

 _Two for I don't remember_

Sakura just closed her eyes and returned to the field of poppies.

* * *

When she awoke again it was another day later and the sky was caught between noon and afternoon. There were less people in the room, but Sakura recognized Ino asleep in the chair. There was beeping in the room, the sound of beeping, but it was so far off and distant. Sakura doubted it was even truly there. Was it an auditory hallucination or was her hearing really coming back to her?

"Ino?" Sakura felt the vibration of her voice and heard it in her ears.

The blond was awake on a jolt. She looked lost for only a second before she realized Sakura's eyes were open and staring at her. Ino gasped and raced for Sakura's bed side, falling down on the empty space of the cot and collapsing atop Sakura's pillows, careful not to actually touch or hurt Sakura.

"What happened?" Sakura asked in what she thought was a whisper, but likely wasn't.

It took a while because Ino talked so fast and the sound was so far away Sakura kept having to ask her friend to go back and repeat stuff. By the time the blond got to the part when they were waiting for her to wake up yesterday she gasped.

"I needed to tell them you were awake as soon as it happened. Hang on, I'll be right back."

Alone again, Sakura sat back in the hospital cot to think.

According to Ino's story they had been out at another club but Ino went home with someone else, someone from the set she would be working with, and Sakura had planned on going back alone. The doorman didn't see her come back and there wasn't any video of her on the security tapes to indicate she made it back.

Ino didn't even know Sakura was missing until she got a call later the next day. Someone had found her a mess in their apple orchard, bleeding from superficial wounds and moaning about broken bones. Something had happened to her ears as well, they were caked with blood and they suspected she would be suffering some hearing loss when she woke up. Ino didn't know if it would ever get better.

When the door opened again Sakura looked up and expected to see a doctor, but it was the man from the apple orchard. Jugo's grandfather. He seemed pleasant enough, but Sakura remembered Jugo explaining how his family was distant and antisocial.

"You've given us a scare," the old man said in a raised voice. The volume was perfect for Sakura, but she knew she would need hearing aids if things did not get better.

"Thank you for rescuing me."

"I don't think I did much of that. We just found you in the dirt. They'll ask you what happened when the doctors come back, it looks bad enough that police were even contacted."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to tell them what happened," Sakura breathed, inwardly panicking. A date gone bad? A joke gone too far? What would her story be? Not even she truly knew how she ended up in the orchard. She could have sword she made it back to the room before sleeping, and it wasn't like another bout of sleepwalking could explain how she traveled two hours out of the city to the rural side of New York.

The old man took a seat in a chair close to her bed. He smiled up at her and Sakura noticed how tan his face was. He wore dirty overalls as well, faded in the knees and fraying in places. "You'll need a friend if you want to lie to authorities more than once."

Sakura swore her hearing was playing tricks on her. "What?"

He didn't say anything but his gaze drifted to something on her nightstand. Sakura looked and saw behind the books and the lamp something black and white, glittering in the dim light.

The Obelisk!

Somehow it was always there when she woke up from a dream, no matter what. If she fell asleep in someone else's room, it was right there on the nightstand when she woke up. If she passed out on the couch, it was on the coffee table in front of her. That's always how it had worked in the past.

Had it been there in the dirt when she awoke in the apple orchard? Why was he suspicious about it? Why was he even still at the hospital?

"How long has it been since you found me?" Sakura asked, looking to the window. It was evening. How long since she last dreamed in the land of the gods?

"This is the second day since we found you."

"And why are you here?"

He had been leaning forward, but at her tone he straighten up in his seat and regarded her cooly. "How long have you been inside the Obelisk's trials?"

 _Run, run, run, run, run_! Her mind was screaming and she felt her heart kick up into a panicked beat. She wanted to run and fight, but her legs were wrapped down and her ankle felt like it was in a cast. She wouldn't be running anytime soon.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He stood and crossed the room to her nightstand and reached behind the lamp to pick up the Obelisk. Sakura's heart skipped in her chest as she watched him turn it around with wide, old eyes.

"Your grandmother was a fool to leave it where someone else might find it. Did you even know what it was when you opened it?" he glanced down at her and shook his head. "Of course you didn't. It's a cosmic joke. They told the old people it was a trail for godhood, but we learned well enough on our own how silly we were being to believe in such a fairytale. Thousands of years, thousands of lives, the best humanity had to offer and no one ever made it."

Sakura looked up at the man with growing dread. "Who are you?"

He sighed, replacing the Obelisk and reaching inside his overalls to pull out his wallet. There was a medal in between the folds he turned over his fingers to let her see. An eagle with an arrow through its heart. The memory hurt.

"My grandmother had a wooden box with that same eagle symbol on it, and Jugo had a seal like that on his fake Katana from last halloween. What…?"

"We were a liberation movement. My family used to be one of seven families that was tasked with finding dreamers and protecting them while they slept. We were also charged with defending the Obelisk from outsiders. Our legacy spanned back to when the Obelisk first came to Japan via the silk road. Each family held up their traditions with honor and pride. But, over a hundred years ago attitudes began to shift. You see, my father was younger than you when he saw the last dreamer die."

The man's voice was still raised, but Sakura heard it grow softer as he kept close so that she might hear the rest of his story. "My father had been friends with that boy before his death and after that event four of the original seven families overthrew the remaining three and vowed to discontinue the use of the Obelisk. We stole it away to America where it eventually passed to your grandmother who married into one of the four families. One family remained in Japan, ours came here, and the last family split up. We hoped we would never be needed again, as your grandmother assured us it would be safe in her possession and the bloody legacy would be over. "

"You did a great job," Sakura bit out, feeling antagonistic with all the stress her heart had just been under. "Let me guess, the families were originally big on the idea of having a friend of theirs turn into a god that grants all their wishes, yeah? There were no ulterior movies there. Just wanted to do the right thing, eh?"

When he looked down at her she smiled up at him with sarcasm strong in her eyes.

"I'm surprised you're not more of a mess after all of this." He pointed to the Obelisk. "How long have you been dreaming to make it so far?"

Based off the colors, he could tell what Kingdom she was in, but he didn't know how many days, months, and years it had taken her to get so far. Sakura closed her eyes and traveled back to that early summer in the attic. The puzzle had been her downfall.

"It's been two years."

"So short a time…" he mused, glancing down at the Obelisk once more. "No wonder Jugo though you disliked him. You've been bearing this burden remarkably well so far."

"Jugo…you're not going to tell him about this, are you?" Sakura flushed with the thought of someone she was close with knowing what she had done, what had happened to her, what continued to haunt her every night.

"He was one of the hands that helped you into the car that drove you here," he laughed. "Of course he knows. He's always known and done a fine job keeping the traditions even when his father wouldn't. He's been asking to see you."

Sakura felt angry again, pushing herself up in bed. "You don't have the right to share my experiences with others. I don't care who you are or what sort of shady organization you claim to be a part of, but I've gotten this far on my own, I don't want anything to do with you."

"It's your legacy. You're a part of the families-"

"Bullshit! I'm a part of a mess I've been climbing out of for two years now. I'll make it the rest of the way on my own."

"You don't have to. There's a way to exit the Obelisk trials."

Sai had told her the same thing once before, a long time ago and she knew it still wasn't an option. She wasn't going to quit and give up after coming so far. She just killed a god, she defeated three other Kingdoms and their gates. When she spoke it was through a snarl. "I know about the pregnancy clause and that's not an option."

He seemed a bit taken aback and she didn't know if it was because of her tone or what she said. Maybe both.

"It wasn't right of you to open the Obelisk. This is a mistake we're trying to fix."

"I made the mistake, it's mine to fix."

He took a step back and his face sagged a bit. "Would it be so terrible to rely on your friends for help? You're suffering, not just right now, but all nights in that world. Why not rely on others who care for you."

"I don't know you and I don't trust you."

He nodded to the door. "The girls who have been in and out care for you, and my grandson cares for you more than you probably know. He made promises when he took up the Wounded Eagle and he thought those promises might sever his friendship with others, but I don't believe in that. You need others to get by. You should know that if you've gotten this far."

"You don't think I got that far on my own?"

He frowned. "The Uchiha who relied on their own might did not fare as well as those who knew to ask for aid. Madara might be the exception."

Sakura felt ice in her veins at the sound of that name. She had spoken it many times before, but hearing it coming from someone else, someone outside the dream…

The shock must have shown on her face since he hummed and eased back down into the seat. "Yes, we know about him. We've kept records of every boy and girl who went took the trials; over a thousand years of records has been our legacy. Now we must add you, but I hope it won't be a name we have to count as lost."

There were nurses outside and Sakura thought she heard Ino. Her hearing was still bad. She didn't have much time left. What was she going to tell them, what was she going to say?

A hand on hers made her look up. He seemed almost kind when he pat her wrist and smiled down at her. "We've already told them a story of intruders. You don't have to remember anything. Jugo will be here tomorrow to help your discharge. The blond will understand if you have to stay with family friends for a while."

"I didn't agree to any of that," Sakura hissed, feeling panic race her heart.

"You have a better idea?"

She didn't.

He chuckled, standing and moving away from her bed, opening the door to let the nurses in. No one stopped him as he left and no one noticed the look he gave her over her shoulder, nor the look she sent back.

She was prepared when weariness dragged her down, past the poppies to the inky under layer of the dream.

* * *

She awoke among rubble, the stones had come down all around her. She was nearly crushed under a heavy slab, but it had gotten caught on what was left on the golden husk of the god she awoke in. Her ankle was pinned and her ribs screamed, but the damage wasn't terrible. Her hearing was coming back slowly.

Green glowed from her hands as she ran them over her ribs and concentrated on welding bones back, shard by shard. Her ankle came next and then she tried her best to repair the damage in her ears but she could feel something beyond her reach. One was easier to hear out of than the other. She wondered if she would ever be able to hear like she used to out of her left ear if even her chakra couldn't fix it.

"Sai," she called, crawling out of the black gold husk. "Sai, where are you?" The world was dizzy when she walked and she could still see the afterimage of poppies when she moved too fast.

Not enough time would have passed in the dream for him to have gotten up and wandered away without first getting her, right? Sai wouldn't do that. She knew better.

Sakura heaved slab after slab out of her way, recognizing the ruins of the room around her. She righted herself with what used the be the doors and then turned down to the place where she had left Sai. It, thankfully, looked less demolished that the rest of the room. Sakura slid down the rubble, feeling her head zing with dizziness as she stumbled the rest of the way. Her shield was still in place, right where she left it. With a touch it melted into dream once more and she was kneeling before the form of her half awake friend.

"Right where I left you," Sakura breathed. Her body was shaking.

Sai smiled tiredly up at her. "Time has passed so slowly here. Nothing has moved since you went to where the flowers sleep," he whispered, reaching for her. She grabbed his wrists and halt him up till he was staggering into her arms. His head fall atop her shoulder as he hummed. "I knew you would win."

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked, still worried about the scabbed over wound on his chest. He had seemed so out of it earlier and she suspected there had been a toxin in whatever hurt him.

"I'll be fine. I'm still weak from the possession."

Sakura frowned. "Possession?"

"The dream killer in this world can't touch you physically. She's too close to the Great Eye to take a solid form, but she can possess others. She's called the ghost and she's a copy of Orochimaru."

"She's terribly pleasent."

"She operates by antagonizing others and luring the dreamer into traps. I'm no better than an actor, I couldn't stop her from taking over my body."

"I thought she would need permission for something like that."

"She is a Medusa of sorts. She moves into actors freely so long as they look into her eyes, or the eyes of one of her snake thralls. I was unwise and met the eye of an asp." Sai coughed before taking a step on his own, closer to the husk of the fallen god. "I doubt we will go long before her trouble finds us once more."

Sakura let Sai go from under her arm, allowing him to use his legs while she recovered the strength in hers. The bruises and minor cuts were still pressing on her body and she felt tired. She felt light. She felt like resting. Sai turned to look over his shoulder and stopped when he saw her resting between a rock and a fallen pillar.

"We may rest a while if you need it. Killing a god brands you. Have you inspected your body in the dream yet? There should be a mark with his hieroglyph somewhere." He pointed to his chest area. "It's important for later on when we need to use their sealed power to stop the sandstorm that surrounds the Obelisk. You're already one fourth of the way there."

Sakura looked down at her body. In the dream she was covered in ink, but underneath that her armor had been burned to scraps. Without the ink she would have been an immodest display, but with just Sai she didn't care.

"I'll have to get the ink off later and see." Sakura breathed deep, sucking in dust and sand with the filtered breath. "That wasn't so bad of a fight. Where to next?"

Sai almost chuckled at her battered form. "You should rest for now. There is no rush and I'm not going anywhere."

Sai was a few paces away from her, standing atop a limp tentacle when something dropped to the floor between them. Sakura looked up the shaft of the room to where cracks in the ceiling let in light from the outside world, but Sai was shouting at something else.

Sakura looked back down and saw the cloth bag that had just plummeted down between them was leaking a colored smoke that curled out and away in angry blue hues. Another two cloths fell between them and Sakura heard others. She coughed, smelling the toxins in their smoke. Sai was trying to say something but she could see him wavering. He started to pitch and stumbled to a part of the god's dead body where an old dagger stood out. Sai fell next to the hilt and tugged it out as even more smoke curled up over his body.

The poppies behind Sakura's eyes were growing heavier and she whimpered, even less capable of fighting them away with how broken her body still felt. She could heal, but her skill was only so developed. Bones she could mend, cuts she could close, but never all the way, and never fully. She was still weak and still in plenty of pain. The smoke curled over her and she felt nearly lost to the world.

Sai was calling her name, but he was so far away, his voice was so small.

Through the smoke she saw tails uncurl. One two three, they hit the floor around them with a dull smack and Sakura realized they weren't actual tails, but coiled rope. Heavy rope…

Sai was still calling her name and trying to stand. She saw the dagger in his hand, dripping ink. A shadow rose up behind him and Sakura watched with only half her hearing as the shadow grabbed Sai with bandaged hands. Another figure helped restrain Sai while a third moved to inspect the dead god's body. There were words exchanged but Sakura only heard parts of them.

 _He said we would…desert hawks…_

 _Sand….That wasn't a part of…_

 _…According to what we already knew of…_

 _You can check later, hurry! We …._

 _How long?_

 _Scouts say ….or more…_

 _The royal pain…horses and chariots…._

 _Scorpion or claws?_

 _…..Matter?_

There was a struggle and then someone said something about weight and then Sakura saw Sai's limp body being raised up, the rope tied around his waist. One of the bodies followed Sai up a second rope, and then another. The last body, the one that always wandered, sprinted through the blue smoke and stopped close enough that Sakura was sure it saw her. She looked up and met the eyes hidden between wrappings of blue cloth. A hawk was painted into the fabric over the mouth area. The figure's face was hidden, but it's eyes were wide.

Someone whistled high and urgent. The figure hesitated, but then was gone in a flash, likely deeming her not worth his time. The smoke was thinning, but she still couldn't move. Her body wouldn't listen to her. She was stuck. She couldn't move an inch and they just took Sai.

They took Sai. They took SAI!

No! Sakura had just gotten him back, she had almost lost him, and she had just gotten him back after almost a year of thinking she had killed him-one of her closest friends! They couldn't take Sai away from her. She got got him back. She just got him back, _shejustgothimback shejustgothimback shejustgothimBACK!_

Sakura screamed, but it was a gurgle in her throat as her body was still so sluggish and the poppies were still there. No, the poppies were yawning wide as something snapped in the world around her and she felt herself slipping backwards. The dream was starting the grow taunt around her and she still couldn't see Sai. They were out of sight, they were taking Sai away from her, but the dream was ending already. It didn't make sense to her in a way that had her begging for this one small mercy. She wanted Sai back. She needed to move.

"You can't take him away from me again," she seethed, pulling herself up over the stones to where she had seen the ropes come down. She'd dream her own up and follow them to the surface. She'd chase them down. She'd cut them down. She'd get Sai back-she'd-

The dream snapped like a rubbed bad and she was lost in darkness, falling back into the real world as she opened her eyes in the hospital room.

A nurse was there, smiling as Sakura stirred. "Oh good, you're awake. Your friends will be here soon to take you back. You're being discharged today!"

* * *

More than one person was surprised to see how able bodied she was when Sakura limped down the hall with a determined glint to her eye. The nurse was following along behind Sakura with the wheelchair that Sakura refused to use, even with her ankle in a boot. Down the hallway in front of the desk she saw more than she bargained for and was grateful she had been stubborn enough to walk.

Karin looked like she wanted to cry when she pushed away from Jugo to run the rest of the way and fall into a hug that had Sakura wincing. Behind her Jugo and his grandfather were commenting on how she should be more careful, but it was noise to Karin.

"I'm going to kill Ino."

Sakura groaned. "Karin…"

"She left you like the selfish bitch she is. What the hell is wrong with her, why isn't she here now? I'm going to kill her next time I see her," Karin seethed.

"Shut up, she's already distressed enough as it is. I told her already I would be staying someplace else to recover and she helped me get time off from my work."

"The accounting gig was a dried up before this, it's not like she had to do anything," Karin bit out, stepping back while holding Sakura around the shoulders.

"I was working at the publishing office in NYC. Accounting stuff dies down in the summer. But yeah, she was helpful and she felt terrible. Don't blame her, it wasn't her fault and she couldn't have done anything different to make things happen any other way, so drop it." Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm still tired, it seems."

Jugo came up and tapped Karin on the shoulder. The redhead grinned to their mutual friend and stood back, allowing Jugo more room to communicate. He reached out to touch her elbow in a gesture meant to be encouraging. His smile was as soft and sweet as she remembered it.

"Hey," his voice was warm feathers under her head. She felt instantly relaxed.

"Hey," she croaked back. "Long time no see?"

Karin snorted, but they ignored her. "Yeah. I'm glad you're awake and walking around. You look better than when we first found you," he said.

Sakura groaned, rolling her eyes. "Oh please don't mention it, I know I'm still a mess, don't make me feel worse."

"Okay, I won't. You always look nice, Sakura."

Sakura hummed in appreciation and caught the sideways look Karin was throwing her. It was enough to make the green eyed girl flush and feel embarrassed. They weren't flirting, they were friends!

Karin's eyes grew wider and she pointed to Sakura's face before making a gagging gesture. Sakura frowned, causing Karin to sign in exasperation before pulling out her phone and taking a quick picture.

"Here, look at yourself," Karin demanded, shoving her phone in front of Jugo's face, separating them.

The picture came into focus and Sakura wanted to recoil. She didn't care what she looked like in the dream world, even though she knew she was a mess there, but it seemed she was just as bruised and broken looking in the real world. She had a modest nebula of bruises encircling her left eye and cheek, cuts on her jaw, and a greatly abused lip. Her eyes were red rimmed as well, making her look like an addict.

'And he just said I looked nice,' she mentally moaned, wanting to reach up and cover her face in a moment of pettiness.

"Karin!" Jugo chastised in a voice stronger and sterner than what Sakura was used to hearing. Karin just tittered, enjoying his annoyance a bit too much. "You said you were worried about Sakura, but it hasn't been two minutes since you've started teasing her. Can't the bickering take a break?"

"Oh Sakura, did you need a break?" Karin fake gasped. "I didn't know I was _too_ much for you."

Sakura huffed, hating how her annoyance with Karin was so damn pleasant. It was unfair how fun it was to bicker and taunt. "It was so nice having a break from using only lower level vocabulary that high school drop outs could understand."

"Don't worry, I just graduated from Never Woke Up Ugly University."

"With what? A major in Bad Decisions and a minor in Skank Studies."

"You should know, you were teaching all the classes."

"Karin!" Jugo sighed, glaring at both girls in exasperation. "Really, the both of you. Is this appropriate?"

"Is your face appropriate? The end of life care patients are in the same room and they don't need any help moving on."

Jugo groaned, shaking his head as he walked backwards towards his grandfather who was helping check Sakura out in the legal sense.

Begrudgingly, Sakura had come to accept his help when faced with the prospect of having to pay for her hospital fee with her low end health insurance that did basically nothing for her. It had been a part of his negotiations strategy when he came back the other night to try and win her over. She hated how trapped she felt when she said yes, but a part of her knew that if there were others who knew about the Obelisk and others who knew about what she was going through, it was better to be closer to them and learn what she could.

He claimed they had records, hundreds of tomes detailing the accounts of past dreamers. It was his family's speciality to keep the chronicles preserved through the generations. Other families had other jobs, such as seeking out potential dreamers, raising wards to protect the dreamer in case of an invasion, decoding and deciphering puzzles presented in the dream, and so on. Sakura's grandmother had been one of the coders tasked with helping solve the puzzles of the Obelisk, which made sense when Sakura considered her inherited love for puzzles. She had a mind well suited to solving cryptic mysteries.

"Ready to go?" Jugo's grandfather asked, coming over to the still bickering girls.

Karin beamed and wrapped an arm around Sakura. "Yeah, I told my boyfriend where he can pick me up and he'll be there around three so I can make it in time for work. But that should be plenty of time to help Sakura get settled in."

"You do nothing but unsettle my stomach," Sakura whispered, looking away innocently as Karin turned and glared.

Jugo groaned in the background while his grandfather chuckled, reaching for Sakura's only traveling bag. Ino had dropped off some things the other day and had wanted to give up more, but Sakura had been encouraged to rely a bit more on Jugo's family, so she had told Ino not to bother. Most of the things Sakura needed would be at the estate waiting for her.

Sakura loved Karin and felt a bit of peace when she had her friend on her arm, but even with Karin, there was no way to forget the anxiety that made her flip out on the nurse in an incoherent rant about having to 'go back for my friend' when she first woke up. Sakura still flelt jittery and wanted to go back as soon as possible for Sai, but she knew she would have to wait until night when her body actually needed the rest.

Once Karin left, Sakura would be able to talk about her experience a bit more freely.

The four of them packed into Jugo's truck and let him drive them from the small hospital back up into the mountains where the apple orchard was nestled. Beyond the orchard was a sprawling Japanese style house built into the side of a modest mountain. Off to the side was a barn for equipment and another for storage. As they were climbing out Sakura also noticed an area off beyond the bars where a trailer bed sported the framework and early steps of a micro home that Jugo had been building.

Sakura had a room to herself, small with sliding doors leading out to a porch that wrapped around the whole of the house's inner facing courtyard. Karin helped Sakura set up the futon for the night with extra pillows for elevation before she got a text from Sui that he was outside the property and would be there in minutes.

"You sure you don't want to stay with me and our family? You're practically my sister if you ask my folks about it."

Sakura shook her head, only vaguely thankful that she wouldn't be a burden to her friends. "Jugo's grandfather is a surprisingly stubborn man, and he's generous to someone who won't be much help until this boot comes off. At least by then I'll be able to help with the apple harvest."

"Please don't talk like Autumn is right around the corner," Karin moaned. "I still wanna enjoy my summer."

"I hate summer."

"I know."

Sakura closed her eyes and laid back against the pillows. "It's nice here. It's quiet."

Sakura couldn't hear as well as she once could, but the hum of cicada was loud enough to feel between breaths when both girls were quiet. Sakura's fingers twitched when she felt the wood of the porch vibrate. She looked up and saw Jugo coming down the way, footsteps heavy but soft.

Karin moaned. "That's my cue to get out of here. I'll try to come visit again tomorrow or at least the day after. You're going to be bored out of your mind here."

"I'll sleep most of the time."

Sakura smiled at her friend and gave her a parting kiss on the cheek before the redhead disappeared back inside to go home with her boyfriend. There was a moment of humming silence before Jugo climbed down to sit alongside her on the porch. He smiled when she looked over at him.

"You okay?"

Her hands shook when she spoke, even when she balled them between her knees. "I think I lost my friend last night. I need to go back as soon as possible to save him."

"Will you tell me what happened?"

Sakura did, summarizing huge chunks of the story, glossing over her fight with a simple sentence to focus more on who Sai was, and what he meant to her. She talked a bit about the dream killer and how little she knew of the other actors in the new Kingdom. Sai had been her guide, but they took him. She was blind in a new world.

Jugo was thoughtful and quiet as he listened before speaking. "You've gone through too much to loose him again. I think you'll be able to get him back if you've come as far as you have."

"I'mm less worried about winning and advancing and more worried about my friend. Sai doesn't deserve it. He's already sacrificed so much for me. He believes in me, so I can't let him down."

"I've read some of the accounts." Sakura turned to watch Jugo as he stared off across the inner courtyard garden. "Officially I've been allowed access since moving in with my grandfather, and I haven't gone through much, but I've read about the Sigh of Dejection more than once, sometimes in passing, sometimes in detail. He's the knower of secret ways, a distant observer, a creative artists that is more concerned with the world he crafts than the dreamer he guides. I always thought he was cold. He seemed like an unlikeable guy, so stiff and formal, almost cruel in his uncaring." Jugo turned to her. "But you don't see him that way. To you, he's your friend."

"He wasn't always my friend. I didn't like him at first, and I didn't trust him for a while." She remembered his face in the Kingdom of Man when she told him she was going after Orochimaru, and when she told him she was bringing him with her to the next world. "But yeah, he's one of my best friends."

Across the garden on the other side of the house a couple of older women ran in and out of several of the rooms, carrying bedsheets and extra linens. Jugo had told her that the following evening other members of the Wounded Eagle would be coming over to stay and hear from her. She hadn't been trilled about the idea of becoming a spectacle, but grit her teeth when she remembered who was paying her hospital bill and taking care of her.

Sakura reached inside the pocket of her fabric shorts and pulled out a micro usb drive. "Your grandfather asked for this, but I wanted to give it to you first," Sakura said, dropping it into her friend's hand. "Back when I thought I was going crazy I wrote down what happened in the Kingdom of Man and a little bit of what happened in the Monarch Woods. I didn't get any further than that. I thought it would be better for my mental health to quit when things got dark."

"Is that when you cut your hair?"

Sakura reached up and fingered the stands that were curling over her shoulders, brushing over the first few bones of her spine. "No, that was the Kingdom of Beasts, when I had to kill Sai."

"Sorry."

Sakura frowned, looking over at Jugo as he turned her usb over and over in his hands. "What are you sorry for? You didn't do anything."

"I knew you were suffering from something and I couldn't help." He swallowed, keeping his chin down. "I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me when it became clear that you wouldn't share any other details. It's stupid and I was selfish, thinking I could be special. I didn't know what was really going on."

"Don't apologize for that. I didn't tell anyone."

"You couldn't."

"…No, I couldn't. You're right. But still, I appreciated you coming over for dinner and making it less awkward. The normal things helped."

Jugo swallowed again, fidgeting even more with his hands. "I won't do it again. I-I'll be your chronicler and do what needs to be done for my family, but I'm also your friend. I'm not going to leave you again."

Sakura closed her eyes, wanting the moment to last a little longer. His words felt like a hug, or a sweater in the winter times. She wanted to wear the comfort he gave her a little longer. "I don't know enough to trust this organization, and I don't feel comfortable about sharing something I've tried to keep secret and deny for so long, but I'm glad you're here. You don't know how much better that makes me feel."

She opened her eyes when she felt his hand on hers, squeezing it in reassurance. He was smiling brightly, but his eyes were still remorseful. "Anytime."

* * *

Sakura awoke in the dream screaming, utilizing that drive to move her forward through the rubble. The smoke had cleared, the ropes were gone, and there was no sign of the intruders left. Sai once told her very little time passes between dreaming sessions, and that from the time she wakes from a dream and reenters it, nothing great ever happens.

There were no more ropes, but she knew where they had come from. Sakura dreamed up stairs and climbed them up the shaft to the crack exposing the light of day.

The world was blinding. Sakura flinched away from the light, shielding her eyes as she stumbled out of the shaft and down into the sands. Everything was white and her eyes hurt. It took too long before she could open her eyes again, utilizing a pair of dreamed up sunglasses.

She stood atop a mound of sand stretched over the ruins of what used to be a great pyramid. She had to lean her head back to see all of it, but the side of the old structure looked as if something had taken a huge bite out of it. The stones were smoothed over along their edges by sand and time. Down what used the be the path to the front entrance of the pyramid Sakura saw columns, broken and desecrated, laying in the sand dunes. The human face of a mythic creature lay half buried in the sand, staring out at nothing with a pharaoh's hood and beard.

Sakura took a few steps and stumbled, falling into a pocket of loose sand up to her ankles. In another place she found stone solid enough to walk across even if it was hidden under a thin layer of golden land was shifting and uneven, making it hard to travel easily. There were what looked like tracks leading away from the hole she had just climbed out of, but they faded after a few feet.

Sakura cursed, spinning and searching for a clue or a sign. She saw mounds and hills of rolling gold all around her, spotted in just a few places with the ruins of a dozen or so lesser pyramids. Sakura strained to see beyond one of them when she caught a flash of light off in the distance. She dreamed up a pair of opera glasses and held them to her eyes, pushing her sunglasses up.

There were people dressed in red and gold riding what looked like horses. It was hard to see clearly, there was so much dust and haze making the image unclear. Sakura replaced her shades and threw the opera glasses away, letting it turn back into dream before it could hit the sand. The people who had abducted Sai had been dressed in blue. Maybe if she met with the characters in red she would find a clue as to where she could go, or maybe it would go poorly for her and she would be even more off track. Was it worth the risk?

Sakura glanced down and realized she was still covered in ink and indecently exposed with very little of her original armor covering her top half. She dreamed away the mess and when she blinked her body had been transformed. Gone were the mess and scarps, and in their place she wore the humble shirt dress from when she first encountered Sai. It seemed the easiest to blend in with.

Making a hasty decision Sakura skipped dow the side of the ruins in the direction of the footprints left by Sai's bandits. She would follow those as far as she could and when the red riders asked her what she was doing she would tell them and ask for help.

There were temples, or what was left of what used to be temples along the way, and Sakura climbed through them, grateful for the steady surface to run across. The bust of another cat faced god stood out of the sand, paired with one that looked like a flacon faced god. Sakura ran past both of them into the shade of another temple.

There were stairs and when she cleared the to the surface above Sakura froze. A body lay before her, dressed in blue and bleeding heavily. No, it was a dead body, leaking old blood. It hadn't been dead long, but it was lifeless. Sakura approached it from the side to get a better look at it before turning the body over onto its back. The wound opened his gut and spilled a great deal of his lesser organs onto the stones he had fallen atop. His face was covered with a blue cloth and there she saw the sigil of a desert hawk or eagle of some sort flying. Maybe a falcon?

Sakura reached for the fabric, meaning to take and save it, but an arrow cut through the air and tore through the skin between her fingers, making her recoil and cry in pain. She balled her hands into a fist and held her bleeding hand close to her chest, staining her shirt. It wasn't deep and hadn't hit anything vital in her hand, but it stung a great deal. It hurt vividly.

Another arrow landed in the body behind her and she spun to see a man dressed in red emerge from the shadows with his arrow and bow aimed and taunt. He had been one of the riders Sakura spied earlier, but he had likely been a part of a separate group. The rest of his people were still a ways off. Was he a scout?

"Desert rat," he sneered from behind his face cloth. "You're not from the brat prince's ilk. You're not worth my arrows, no matter how easy the shot."

"Who are you?" Sakura hissed, seeing a claw painted onto the cloth around his neck.

She heard string stretch and wood bend and turned to see a second archer make his way up the stairs, silent while his friend had been boastful. The second archer's face was uncovered, and was dark skinned for the desert. Sakura almost recognized it, but couldn't remember from where. He was an actor.

"Vermin asking questions is the end of civilization as we know it. Stupid vermin make it worse." He nodded to the dead body behind her. "You're picking the pockets of the lesser Pharaoh's man."

"Lesser Pharaoh?"

The archer looked offended. "Idiot. Please let my hand slip and kill her on accident Darui."

"Shi, you know the rules."

Sakura tried to remember but all she could recall was a vague recollection from the TeaLion Express, but she was almost sure that she had seen Darui or heard of him before. "I wasn't trying to steal anything, but they took my friend and I need to find where they took him."

"Who?" the man called Shi asked with a sneer.

Sakura nodded to the pyramid she had just crawled out of. By now there were men in red dismounting from their horses to explore the hole. "He and I were inside the tomb below when we were attacked by men that looked like him. They took him and left me, but I need to get to him. Please, it's important. Help me find my friend."

"Can you believe this bitch?" the blond asked the quieter archer. "What the hell would we be doing helping trash like her find more trash like her? Listen girl, over here." He waved his bow and arrow to get her attention. "You're trespassing on blasphemous grounds and looting on the land of the gods. You're an outlaw so we don't do anything for you. I don't think you're worth taking to the palace though. You don't look like you were ever anything at all."

"Shi!" the other archer called sharply. The blond frowned but lowered his bow. Sakura looked to the other man and swallowed. He still had his arrow trained on her. "What were you doing inside the tombs?"

Sakura toed the line between truth and lie, licking her lips. They're both actors, but Sakura doesn't doubt that they could kill her if they wanted to. They're not the loving sort of actors she was used to.

"We were learning. The walls had stories we were searching for. We came a long way to see and read those stories. One day I woke up from a sleep and he wasn't there. I heard thunder and there was…there was a mess. I was almost crushed and I fell. When I woke up it was only in time to see the men in blue steal my friend. He had been knocked out using some sort of blue smoke."

Darui looked over Sakura's shoulder at Shi and huffed. "That sounds like the story we heard."

Sakura pretended to look confused. "What story?"

"Someone killed a god."

Shi made a sound of displeasure when Darui answered Sakura, but the darker skinned man ignored his blond companion.

"We are here for that truth and to find the individual responsible for the act." He loosened his arrow and stood up fully. "It sounds like the brat prince pharaoh of lesser Egypt also had the same idea and had his men make it here before us. They're pathetic, but they are fast."

Shi snorted again, replacing his arrow and drawing a dagger in place of his bow. "They have to be, he's got no god of his own to control." He waved the blade at Sakura and nodded to Darui. "What do we do with her, kill her?"

Sakura stiffened and Darui sighed. "No, we'll take her to the palace and the high priestess will make a decision. We need only follow orders."

"Who are you?" Sakura asked, stilling holding her bleeding hand and taking a step back. Ibiki had mentioned there might be more than one Pharaoh, but the set up of the world around her was still unclear.

It was Darui who answered. "We're en employed in the service of his worshiped highness, the Pharaoh of the Red Sands and king of Upper Egypt. For trespassing on blasphemous grounds you will be brought before the high priestess and judged."

Darui took out a knife of his own and nodded to Sakura, gesturing for her to come to him while talking to his fellow thief. "Prepare the spare horse. We're riding back with here. I don't want to be out past nightfall."

When Sakura refused to move Darui sighed again and walked over to her. She didn't fight when he took her hands. A scarf in his back pocket was tied around her wrists and Sakura almost jerked at the memory of shackles, but cloth was easy to break. She could escape any time she wanted to, she wasn't a slave, she was never a slave, and she would never be a slave. Still, Sakura felt her breathing escalate and panic set into her veins. She was shaking.

Darui tugged her forward, surprisingly gentle. When she looked up at him he shook his head, as if to tell her not to run, it wasn't worth it. "You'll be safe. We don't treat men and women poorly before they are judged."

"Why are you taking me? I have to find my friend. It's not safe for him to be apart from me."

"If you are judged innocent and do not struggle you may petition for his release from the lower court," he answered in an even tone. "Though I doubt that would be worth the trouble. If he is as important as we believe him to be, our own Pharaoh will collect him on his own."

Sakura frowned, going over his words. "Why do you think my friend is important?"

"He likely killed the god. Isn't that what you said yourself?"

"I never said that."

Darui almost smiled. "Would you admit it if it were true? God killers are kings. The Pharaoh of Upper Egypt killed one of the wild gods and so did the King of the Thieves. The Pharaoh of lesser Egypt has no such boast and is eager to earn a friend of such might, but he won't be able to hold on to anyone if our king demands."

"What…what are the names of your Pharaohs?" Sakura asked, following as Darui led her down the stairs to where the rest of his party waited. Several had come back from scouting the empty tomb and Sakura saw one crawling out of the hole in the ground with one of her knives in his hand. It was stained with black.

"We dare not speak their names. It is a disrespect."

He tugged her forward and then nudged her to an empty horse before helping her up. He wasn't rough and Sakura couldn't find it in her heart to hate him, even if she was being tied and captured. She knew she could get away whenever she wanted, but there was no point if she didn't know how to get to Sai.

"How long will it take to get to where you are going?" Sakura asked, throat dry.

"She's asking too many questions, can't you shut her up?" the blond man asked, stomping past to talk to the others.

Darui shook his head. "We will travel to an outpost and reconnect with the rest of the caravan. You'll be moved to a cart and before the end of the day you will reach the palace. Tomorrow you will stand trial."

Sakura nodded before another member came up behind her an placed a cloth around her head, covering her mouth and nose. Darui tugged it so it was slit only around her eyes and explained simply, 'for the sand' before mounting the horse ahead of her.

In minutes Sakura understood what he meant when the group took off in the direction they had come, kicking up dust and sand like it was a need. Sakura's eyes watered and she had to screw them shut and let her horse be led by his tether as they raced out of the ruins and onto a road.

Sakura didn't know what time felt like, but after a while when she thought her throat would break apart the horses eased to a trot and the stopped. Sakura looked up to see a cluster of houses dug into the earth. Around them fresh horses waited. There was a cart with bodies inside it drawn by two mules and Sakura grimaced when she saw several men inside, all dirty, all bound.

Darui gave her a look of apology before helping her into the cart and then changing out the horses for the rest of the men. When they set out again, the pace was more relaxed and there was more scenery to be distracted by.

In the cart there were four other men. Two were asleep in the corner, one was bound in actual chains and couldn't move to face her, and the last was left in loose shackles not unlike her own. He caught her staring and grinned, stretching some of the pain on his face. His face was clear and easy to see, he was an actor.

"What are you in for?" he teasingly asked.

Sakura shrugged. "Being somewhere I shouldn't have been. You?"

"I killed a man, but everyone agreed he was annoying."

Sakura eyed his restrains. "Those are pretty light for such a dangerous person. Why aren't you in chains?"

Now it was his turn to shrug. "I didn't resist when they brought me to the guards, and I'm not sorry for what I did. Whatever happens to me, I won't ever regret it. Ah, but I guess they're trying to be nice to me because of who I know."

"You sound awfully sure of yourself," Sakura said around a yawn. The cloth around her face was itchy and full of sand. She reached up to tug it apart and when it fell away it was so much easier to breath. Her lungs felt fuller and cleaner with fresh air to fill them. When she glanced back at the prisoner in face pain she caught him staring.

"Oh wow, you're prettier than I thought you'd be. You're not a local are you?" he said, eyes roving.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sakura straightened up and put more distance between them.

He saw her subtle movements away from him and laughed. "Ah, no, don't take it the wrong way. I'm just used to a sort of type and you're different. A good different, don't worry. What's your name?"

She waited a moment before saying, "Sakura." He grinned at the sound of her name and didn't say anything more, prompting her to add, "You're going to tell me yours?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"Of course. I'm Kankuro, don't forget it."

Sakura nodded, leaning her head back and waiting for the rocking of the cart to slow and stop. The land around them was rapidly changing, from sparsely populated to densely packed with paved roads and mingling bodies in the street. Travel picked up and Sakura noticed more than one extravagant temple in the distance before they were pulled off the main road to a impressive looking brick shaped building.

Kankuro shifts forward and Sakura is rightful to be weary when they roll in and stop. Members of their group are joined by more guards and there is time for communication between them. Sakura sees paper pass hands and someone inspects a scroll before returning it to a side pouch. The whole process looks vaguely official. Kankuro catches her watching and makes a face at her, rolling his eyes and shaking his head like the whole process is some silly deal. Sakura doesn't say anything back, but she can't help but grin.

It's minutes later when someone comes to lead them out and heard them down stairs into a stone chamber with sections separated by bars. The two sleeping drunks are deposited into the same cell, the man in chains is led into another, and Kankuro and Sakura are separated into the last two cells. There is a boy in begging clothes coming around to feed and give the prisoners drink. Sakura is last in line, but she waits by her door while the guards linger. Apparently there's hot gossip going around.

Eventually Sakura gets her bread and water but doesn't scurry back to the corner of her cell. Instead she lingers by the door, eating and listening for anything that might be worth overhearing. There's a lot of whispered talk about the temple she came from, about the 'little prince' she assumed was actually the Lower Pharaoh, and some more talk about the King of the Thieves. There isn't a lot for her to go on, and she ends of feeling more frustrated than informed by the time she finishes her bread and water.

The rest of the prisoners including Kankuro are settled down in their bunks, stone slabs lined with hey and cotton sheets. Sakura paces, feeling too jittery to lay down. Was it worth it to stay the night and wait to go before the more important/powerful Pharaoh, or should she be out there, blindly searching for her friend?

There was s shifting in her cell and Sakura freezes, surprised to be not so alone. But when she turns to see who it could be the man raises a hand to his lips.

"Baki," Sakura hisses, glancing to see if anyone else was awake. "What are you doing here?"

He nods to her in greeting. "I've come to watch and to warn."

"Warn me of what?"

"Be careful of your weaknesses. You don't choose a helpless dove for your boon, but your companion is little less than even my equal. Do not deviate from the narrative."

"You know, when someone tells me not to do something, it makes me want to do that exact thing," Sakura whispers harshly, stalking forward. "Where is Sai?"

She reaches for the guide but her hand passes into shadow. There is a vibration in her ear and she hears his voice before the dream snaps her awake.

"The dreamer should worry about herself a little bit more."

* * *

Sakura rolls the pen over her fingers, dropping it in between the gaps and grasping it before it can fall into her lap. Her other hand sits in her lap, bandaged.

"And Hidan also showed awareness in the Kingdom of Beasts?"

Sakura looked up, seeing Jugo looking back through the notes on his computer. When she didn't reply right away he looked up and watched her, waiting to see what was wrong. She blinked, dropping the pen.

"Yes, that is correct. He also remembered. I thought it was unusual because in the Kingdom of Man we were not as close as others."

"That is peculiar," Jugo agreed, saving his document before closing the lid on his laptop. Sakura looks up at the sound of it closing and sees him turn off the tape recorder meant t catch whatever he misses. "I think that's enough for today. You've recalled so much and I have to make annotations." He paused, watching her watch him. "Would you like to take a break? Maybe a walk?"

Sakura looked down at her hand and finally nods. "Yes, I scarcely feel as if I am in my body these days. I…I think it would be good to clear my head."

Jugo nods and offers her his hand. He holds her elbow helping her up as she wobbles. Her legs had been crossed too long. The first steps are like walking through pins and needles and she thinks it is appropriate.

She failed Sai. She didn't fail Sai. She failed him, or did she?

"This is the most you've ever spoken about the other half of your life after keeping them so well separated. It's normal to feel out of it," he says, guiding her out to the porch. "I'm sorry I have to pester you so much."

"It's new to you too, isn't it?" Sakura says.

"But it's not that big a deal for me, all I have to do is write down what you tell me. You're the one that has to kill beasts and slay gods and fight monsters."

Her lips quirk at a memory. "I didn't really slay many monsters, just gods and beasts, and animals."

Jugo mutters something under his breath and sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry, I'm supposed to be distracting you, but here I just make it worse. Ugh, Ino called you, right?"

"Video call, she's working hard and I think it's best that I'm away, but it feels wrong how I left. Ino and I…our friendship was healing and when I left it hadn't finished healing. I feel like I did that a lot with people I knew. I feel like I did that with you too."

"Don't feel bad for it and don't apologize for it. I did my own share of drifting away. You can't blame yourself for it all. Before anything else, you and what you are dealing with come first."

They stop under the pavilion in the garden and through one of the rooms Sakura can see out into the driveway where another car is pulling up. Out steps a man with a cane, followed by an older woman. Another car leaks younger men and women, looking like their eyes are peeled for danger. Bodyguards.

"Is it almost time?" Sakura sighs, dreading what will happen during dinner.

After Jugo explained what was going to happen Sakura dubbed the event the Great Inquisition. They would sit down to eat and after everyone had a mouthful the questions would begin. Sakura didn't plan on eating much. She felt sick just thinking about all those eyes on her, asking her about things she'd rather never mention out loud.

"We have plenty of time. Nothing starts until you are ready."

His hand on her elbow directs her to the path behind the barn and they take a long walk, speaking less and less until one of Jugo's cousins asks them to return for dinner. The sky is dimming and dusk is within reach. Sakura should be hungry, she hadn't had lunch before leaving, but all she feels in her stomach is a rolling of filth that rises up her throat into her mouth whenever she thinks about food.

Sakura feels a calming hand on her elbow and knows who it belongs to. She might have unraveled and become a phantom of herself again, sick with worry for Sai and the gods and the curse in her dreams if not for that hand on her elbow.

"Let's go," she sighs, walking ahead of him. He lets her lead, never pushing or encouraging her to go further or faster than she is comfortable with.

"It'll be less awkward to get a seat first and watch them come in than be the last one yourself," Jugo suggests, keeping close to her as they head towards the room from yesterday.

Only Jugo's grandfather is there, seated on the floor in front of a raised tray of food. The set up is Japanese traditional, with floor mats being set out in place of chairs, and tray of food in place of plates and tables. Each place has a pillow, distinguishing it, and it is with a roll of horror that Sakura sees where her place is. The places are arranged in a oval pattern so each one might look out and see any other guest except for whoever sat in the middle.

"I'm not sitting there," Sakura hisses, stepping back. The thought of all the eyes on her, everyone watching her, listening to her, chatting with her as they eat and lounge made her want to throw up. She wasn't brave enough to be a spectacle for spectators and strangers.

Jugo was right beside her in an instant, loosly holding her elbows. "You don't have to, we'll get you another place, here…."

Jugo's grandfather mearly watches as Jugo pulls the place setting back towards the ring, close to his own seat. He looks up to make sure she is watching. Her place mat is no longer in the center of the room, but it isn't fully a part of the ring either. It's a compromise.

"I'll be right here, beside you."

It's more than Sakura knows she should expect, and when she hears voices she decides she can find the courage to be brave one more time. Jugo smiles for her as she kneels to take her seat while elders trickle in.

There is a modest of murmurs as the adults take their seats, speaking with each other as if it is the first time they had seen each other in a while. There are a few younger guests, but the three most noteworthy individuals that stand out are all aged elders that look to be around the age of Jugo's grandparent. The one in the middle makes a note to save the two seats on either side of him, commenting that he is waiting for his wards.

It's with a start that Sakura realizes she recognizes the man. Jugo leans in to whisper. "That's Danzo, he owns the Orchard as well as Root. His family was in charge of defending the Obelisk a long time ago. He's a sour apple, but don't be scared. He's the most likely to fall down and worship your feet. Last time we met he was the only one who seemed interested in using the Obelisk again in the future."

As if he could hear them speak of him, Danzo raises his head and stares out across the room at her with his one good eye. Sakura swallows, doubting the possibility of ever feeling comfortable again for as long as she remains in the room.

"Who are we waiting for?" one of the oldest women asks, reaching for her chopsticks. Across from here, the oldest male elder begins to pick at his food.

Danzo turns to her and his voice is gruff when he speaks. "My wards are inspecting the grounds. They will be here shortly."

"My, you don't trust me and my own security?" Jugo's grandfather asks teasingly.

"No offense to you, Log, but I trust not even my own two eyes if I can help it."

He speaks to the other man but Danzo's stare is heavy when it lands on Sakura. Sakura wants to shudder at the weight of it. She wants to run. She wants to hide. She wants the night to be over. She wants to go back!

And just when she believes the night can not grow more tense, the screen door rolls back and two new figures enter, going for the seats beside Danzo. The first man takes his seat easily enough but the second freezes the moment he notices Sakura. Behind her Jugo tenses as well.

Realizing his friend isn't sitting, Genma looks up to make a joke but stalls when he sees Sakura sitting in the seat of honor. Yamato's eyes are wide as they take her in and Sakura realizes the roll in her stomach is something to be grateful for. Anything more than an empty stomach would have ended up on the floor by now.

* * *

AN:/ Okay, four for four and the next chapter is almost guaranteed to be updated next week! I'm so excited. This chapter was longer than I wanted it to be, it just didn't feel right to end it with her in the cells, so I kept going until I felt comfortable ending the chapter. I don't want to scare anyone off with huge chapters that take forever to read when it's updating so frequently, but the next one looks like it will be a longer one as well.

What do you think?

Sakura is learning more about the Obelisk in the waking world and people who know about what she is dealing with/going through have shown up. Is this a good thing, is this a bad thing? Did you suspect I would do that with Jugo and the Root boys? I feel like I've finally pulled off a long con and it's so freeing. Yes, the boys are back and now Sakura has drama on both sides of the fence.

Please remember to _**review**_ , because really, that's what sustains me.

* * *

RANDOM BITS OF INFO YOU DIDN'T WANT:

Dreamers like Sasori, Pein, and Deidara were a part of the Obelisk during the late Meiji era (1890's) when the elders were considering using the offspring of interracial couples based on the assumption that mutts were stronger and had more vitality in the dreamworld.

The elders were desperate for a champion towards the end of the Meiji era, desperate enough to break with traditions.

Some of these dreamers were borderline unwilling, others were tricked. Deidara did not know what he was getting into, only that he could buy food for his family if he 'played the dreaming game.' Sasori and Pein knew and wanted to live forever/become a god. Like Deidara, they came from the streets and were poor with no family to care for or be cared for by.

The Obelisk came to America during the Taishō era, the 1910's, right before WW1.

Actors older than the Heian Period (794 - 1192) are super rare to come across in the dream world. The longer you've been dead, the more faded your memory becomes to the Obelisk.

Before the Heian Period the Obelisk was in India.

Mizu nin are primarily from the Kamakura Period (1185 - 1333) before the Obelisk fell into the hands of the Uchiha clan, who held possession of the Obelisk until the 14080's or the Warring States era.


	9. Chapter 9

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

A girl is told she is nothing. She hums into the soft dark - _just wait,till I come back & eat you bare…till your heart cries blue, till your bones are fear_  
— Scherezade Siobhan, log #1  
(Published in The Undertow Review)

* * *

Sakura doesn't touch the food once and makes no move to pretend to. She sits with her hands on her knees, curled into fists that turn white at the knuckles when she feels the eyes on her become too obvious. The first few minutes pass painfully slow.

She closes her eyes and tries to listen to their side chatter, but only one ear works well enough to catch anything, and none of it makes sense. Thankfully, not too much of it is about her, of if it is, she doesn't realize it. She glances down at the tray of food by her side and the small wooden box set beside it. The food was untouched but she knew she would have to use the box later on. Inside lay her Obelisk, mostly white with only one part still gleaming with Obsidian.

Her hand twitched when she heard someone whisper her name, and then she grew uncomfortably attuned to any mention of a 'her' or 'she' in the conversations around her. The topics had shifted. More and more of the conversation had turned to her. Someone said something about her face and she remembered how ugly her bruises seemed. Their eyes felt heavier. She was drowning.

"Enough!"

It's Danzo's stern voice that reigns in the conversations around him. It's like breaking the surface of a lake, air sweet and new in her lungs. For a moment the eyes fall away from her and settle on the man who seems too calm and collected to be shaken by their attention. She's thankful to this man, for the moment he gives her.

"It has been over a century since we our families were called together for such a reason. Never in any of our lifetimes have we been faced with such a predicament, nor in any of our previous assemblies." He speaks with authority, and the very wood of the room leans in to his words, listening.

When he turns his face to her the room turns with him, and all the eyes are back on her again. "We would be remiss if we did not begin with proper deference, least we forget our standing in all this."

He lays the palms of his hands down on the wood in front of him, fingers touching, and bows low enough that his face rests against his fingers, a sigh of upmost respect that makes Sakura suddenly feel young and out of place. She knows enough to know that an elder, someone of his age and respect, should never bow like that to someone like her, someone so young with so little importance in the world.

It is a beat later before the rest of the heads in the room bend, some more willing than others. Even Jugo from his seat behind her, brushes the side of her leg and he bends his head down to the floor in a formal bow. It's almost as stifling as the eyes and Sakura doesn't know what to do.

"Please," she whispered, fearing they have stayed down too long. "Don't."

The heads all rise back up, some faster than others, but Danzo's is the last to lift from the floor, and he does so I such a manner that his face never turns up to her until he is back in his sitting position.

The female elder mades a sound of discontentment. "She is a child who knows not the importance of this, nor of us. If you were smart you would have started with introductions, Danzo." The woman set her glare on Sakura and nodded. "I am Koharu, Utatane Koharu."

One by one the members in the room introduced themselves, even Genma and Yamato. Aside from Danzo, the other male who looked as old as Koharu and seemed to hold as much self importance and respect called himself Homura Mitokado. Jugo's grandfather addressed himself as Log, even though Sakura had been calling him 'pop' the way Jugo did all during her stay.

"We will begin with the questioning then," the old man Homura said, eyeing Danzo before looking down the room to where Sakura sat. "How did you first access the Obelisk?"

"It was left behind in a box of old Avon perfume bottles. It was the only one that looked like a puzzle so I set it aside. After solving the puzzle I opened it, not expecting anything of it."

There was an agitated murmur and Sakura shifted uncomfortably. Log leaned forward to answer her unasked question. "We were present when your grandmother buried the Obelisk in a safe under my very own orchard not far from where you woke up. It shouldn't have been in her house."

"The seals didn't hold," one of the younger elders barked in annoyance. "And now we have this mess to deal with again. Who else could even begin to bind in place such a thing?"

Sakura knew well enough that the Obelisk would show up without warning whenever she moved sleeping places. Even if she left it behind in one house, it would be beside her when she woke up in a different home. Whatever magic let it do that must have put it in the Avon box where she found it.

"There will be time for that later you old goat. Sakura san," Kaharu called to the younger woman. "How long have you been partaking in the trials?"

"Two years."

There was another ripple of whispers and concerned voices.

"Who else knew of your situation?" another voice asked.

Sakura felt a pull of irritation in the back of her jaw as she strained to hold back the sass of a sarcastic comment. "I told no one. I didn't believe what I saw when I dreamed myself for a long while. I figured it wasn't worth telling anyone else because it was too unbelievable and I didn't want to end up in a loony bin."

"Did you know what it was when you opened it?"

"No. I never referred to it as the Obelisk trials until this past month. I referred to it as the curse, because that was what I believed it was. The dreams were trying to kill me."

They asked her about her age, where she was living, what she was doing for school, where she worked, all things about her life that made her feel even more like a fish in a glass bowl. It seemed as if they wanted to make it look like they cared about her, but all Sakura wanted was her privacy back. This was worse than some of the things she had to do in the dream world.

"That's enough of that," the grumpy old man Homura said, folding his hands over his chest. "The Obelisk. You have it here?"

Sakura touched the box by her knees. "I do."

"How far have you gotten in the two years you've been a part of the trials?"

"What do you think?" Sakura dryly intoned, pulling the box onto her lap and feeling drained. The tone of his question felt like a hand that pushed her down, and Sakura had too much fight in her not to push back. "I mean, you are taking bets on that, right?"

With bitterness Sakura notes a couple of faces turned away while others looked offended at her tone. Homura's stare was simmering while Danzo remained unreadable. Kaharu sighed, tapping the floor. "We forget ourselves. Apologies, Sakura san. We understand this must be trying for you. Your grandmother never told you of our existence and the trails are no small mercy to complete. Will you please show us the Obelisk?"

Sakura softened, hands curling around the lid of her box. It came off easily enough and the Obelisk was set deep into the velvet outline. She heard more murmurs of anticipation, but it was when she set the Obelisk down on the floor in front of her, and turned it around that the room really began to buzz out of control.

One of the men almost stood up from his seat, he was so shocked. Another two began to talk loudly. Hands rose in the air as Kahura tried to get the group to sit back down and quiet. Someone called it a scam and another insulted Log for calling them all in.

"Enough!" the room was a vacuum without sound in the wake of Danzo's voice. It had been different before, now his words were steel tipped, harsh and cutting. He looked around the quiet room once more and then repeated the command. "That is enough. This is not the first time a dreamer has breached the Kingdom of Gods."

"But in two years?" another voice pipped up. Danzo glared hard and the man shrank backwards.

Log spoke up, voice not as sharp as Danzo's, but just as demanding of authority. "None of you were alive during the years of the cull when men and even women were called into the Obelisk on a near monthly basis. We have records of that time. There are accounts of men entering the Kingdom of Monsters in a years time. Two years for the Kingdom of Gods is impressive, but not unheard of."

"No offense, but Sakura chan is no Madara Uchiha," Homura spoke up, unfazed by the glares of Log or Danzo.

"Was Madara the man who made it all the way to the end?" Sakura asked, speaking up.

Danzo blinked, almost surprised by her question. It is Log who answers her question.

"No, that was a different child, but Madara did make it to the last Kingdom. He was unable to slay any of the gods there, however. He is impressive to note because his time in the dream was…accelerated. He reached the Kingdom of Monsters in one year and two months, but then he stayed in that kingdom for two years after that, drunk and happy."

"How do you know of Madara Uchiha?" Danzo asks, gaining her attention again.

"He was an actor in the Kingdom of Monsters." Sakura notes the stares around the room and shifts. "Why is that so shocking? All the failed dreamers became actors, didn't they?"

Log answers her, "Most, yes. But actors who did not progress far and who have weak souls are lost to the Obelisk over time and do not reappear as actors. Madara Uchiha died in the dream many centuries ago, but never has another dreamer ever recorded witnessing him in the dream, thought many assumed he would be a popular if not frequent actor. But you saw him…?"

"What was he like?" one of the younger voices asks her, and Sakura can't ignore the note of awe. She thinks back to the mural in the tombs of Madara standing atop piles of dead, nearly godlike on his own. Then she thinks of how he hovered over her, pushed her into the thick fur of the polar bear rug alongside the fire, red eyes spinning.

"There will be another time for those details!" Kahura snaps, glaring at the younger man. "There are other things that must be discussed first, such as what we are to do to support or save the dreamer from her trials."

Sakura feels something in her spine that feels almost like fear, but before she can ask Log raises his hand and speaks. "Sakura has expressed a wish not to exit the trials. She was knowing of the method but still adamant in her decision."

"Of course she would be," Homura coughs. "She's made it to the Kingdom of the Gods, who would quit now?"

"No one has ever survived this thing," Kahura fired back. "Of course exit should still be an option. Have you forgotten why we were formed in the first place, why our ancient families rebelled over a century ago?"

"Oh my God, I can't believe they're talking about this in front of me like this," Sakura whispered to herself, but Jugo heard her.

"I don't think it's our decision," Danzo gruffly stated. "And she's made up her mind. Let that be the end of it."

Kahura looked between Sakura and Danzo, glancing at Genma and Yamato. "It's not like she wouldn't have options. It wouldn't necessarily be unpleasant. Your boys are understanding, Danzo."

Jugo stiffened from behind Sakura when he noticed the elder woman's stare and Sakura felt her gut roll once more as others began to chime in. Everyone seemed to have an opinion on how she should handle her self in bed or how experienced she already was, or how she should choose a partner from one of their homes. Sakura wanted to puke at some of their assumptions, thrown out so carelessly, as if she weren't in the room sitting right there.

"That's enough," Sakura said standing. "I'm done here."

Log started to stand as well, reaching heads up in an effort to be placating. He started to talk to her, to ask her to come back, but Sakura was already walking out. She didn't care how rude she was being or who paid for her hospital bills. Even as she was walking towards the door and Jugo rose to follow her, someone made a comment about how she had already chosen her consort.

Sakura froze in front of the threshold. Ice filled her veins and the sensation of dreaming was fresh in her memory. Her breaths were heavy and even, slowing down the world around her.

"I have nearly been devoured alive by wolves, gut by dream killers, buried in bones, drowned at the hands of tailed beasts, and seen far too many of my friends, actors I've grown to care for, die again and again and again."

Stiffly Sakura turned back to the group. Her words are sharp and when she speaks them she is almost afraid they will cut her lips on their way out.

"I have spend every night for the last two years worried, wondering if this will be the night I never wake up again. Is this the night they finally kill me? But I'm here now, looking like this with an ear that might never hear again, because I killed a crawling _god_ in the last kingdom of this damn curse! I _killed_ it."

Her stressed words are heavy in the room as all eyes wait and watch. She knows she's confessing to doing things they hadn't expected to hear about. But they're not Sai, the person who believed in her, the person who told her they knew she would be the one to make it to the end. None of them believed in her, even if a few seemed curious enough to let her try and get as far as she could. Their shock over her having made it to the last kingdom was proof enough how little they believed in her.

"So don't you dare talk about me like I'm some sort of problem for you all to take care of and make a vote on who gets to fuck me for a way out of this curse. I'm not going to hear another word on that from any of you. I don't care how long you've been watching this curse. I've lived it, bleed and suffered in it till I thought it would be better to just never wake up again. I've killed too much and too many times to think I own any of you the respect you've refused me just now."

She pauses only a moment longer, letting her words sink in before turning on her heel and heading back out the door. She pulls it open harshly and the screen door slams into the post before jumping back, but Sakura has already slipped through and is storming back to her room.

Jugo doesn't call out to her, or say anything, but he keeps up with her steps, pressing in closer when he notices how she shakes outside the door to her room. Her hands are lost in internal earthquakes and she has to hiss her breaths out between her teeth to steady the shakes of her body.

"They're assholes," he says, waiting beside her.

The shaking subsides but there is still the ghost of tremors tingling under her skin. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, pretty much," she sighed.

A moment of silence passes and then Jugo leans forward so she can hear his lowered voice. "What you said back there, about…not wanting to wake up again…"

"Forget it."

"No, I can't. I'm sorry, I knew things were bad and I know you told me to stop apologizing for it, but please let me. Please let me. I'm sorry, so sorry. I'm sorry you're hurting even now. I'm sorry that they added to your pain just now. You don't deserve it. You never deserved it. Of all the people I've known, you never deserved any of this."

"Who does?" Sakura shakes her head, remembering how she thought the curse was a punishment for so long before realizing it was a trail set up for wannabe gods. "I'd not wish it on anyone else."

"I-I wish I could help you. I wish I could take this burden from you, but I'm helpless. You don't deserve this, Sakura," Jugo says, sounding like he's given up.

Her breath is shaky, but she's steady enough to reach out and touch his wrist, holding it until he lifts his head to look at her. She drops his wrist to turn around and face him fully, shoulders squared back.

"That's a nice thought, and I'm thankful you care for me so much, but that's not what I need right now. Please let me be honest with you. I know it's a shitty situation, I know the Obelisk is rough, but I think I can do it. I believe I can achieve what no other has yet achieved. Sai believes in me, and I believe in me. I don't need anyone else trying to save or pity me. Please, just believe in me and support me. That's all I'll ever need, and more than I dare deserve."

"Of course I believe in you, if anyone could it would be you." He shuffles a bit. "But what about Karin or Ino? Wouldn't they be better confidants?"

"I wouldn't. They'd just think I'm crazy, like my mother. It would be nice, but that can't happen. Jugo I have no one else I trust that I can share this with."

"You can trust me." When he lifts his head his shoulders are just as squared as hers. He opens his mouth to say something but another voice interrupts him. They both turn to see Yamato jogging down the porch. Behind him, Genma lazily strolls.

"Sakura," Yamato calls to her, stoping just short of the pair. "Wait, I wanted to talk to you. I'm sorry. I didn't know what was going to happen back there. I didn't even know it was you we were coming to see until just now."

Behind him, Genma slides up and waves. "But it does make a lot of sense, you know. Being as depressed as you were. You know I was worried for a while there. Not that I have reason to, what with you being a badass and all." He leans in a little closer, grin stretching across his face. "I'm also still up for banging with protection if you ever need stress relief."

Yamato shut his eyes for a moment, trying to not find Genma annoying while Jugo sputtered at the suggestion. Sakura reached out and smacked Genma across the face and he whines through a laugh when she begins to beat on his back and arms.

* * *

Sakura woke to the sounds of retching. One of the men in the far cells was sick, spilling his guts to the floor. Sakura wrinkled her nose and scooted to the far corner of her cell. There was early light filtering in through the small windows towards the top of the far walls, letting her know that it was morning. They would be taken out soon, and marched to wherever it was people go to get judged.

Kankuro from yesterday is still asleep, but he moves slightly, shifting in his sleep as his eyes rove behind his eye lids. The paint on his face is still there, but it has since become smudged in places where sweat has broken it up. Baki was gone and there was no sign of him left behind.

"Lovely," one of the guards sigs before turning and heading back up the stars.

Moments later the guard returns with a handful of gold colored cloth, followed by Darui and the blond man called Shi from yesterday. The sight of the new guards was enough to make the retching man try and sit up alongside the other youth that had been dragged in. Sakura noticed a change in the chain prisoner as well.

Shi turns his nose up at the two celled together and waves them away. "They're too much of a mess to bring forth today. Another night in the cells will be better to help them settle. We have enough with just these three."

The guard separated the cloths in his hand and Sakura realizes they are hoods, pained gold and decorated with a bright turquoise green seal. The chained prisoner is brought forward, wrangled and beat behind the knees before he allows himself to be hooded. Once the fabric has be stretched across his face Sakura can see the symbol painted in the middle is an eye.

The guard holds two more hoods ready as Sakura stands, ready to be taken out. The go for Kankuro first, rousing him with water on his upper half, smearing even more of his face paint. He curses but doesn't fight like the other prisoner. As the prepare to drop the hood over his head he looks sideways into her cell and smiles, winking before the hood blocks his vision.

Sakura doesn't fight when they come for her, but inclines her head and waits for the hood. The guard hesitates at her non-aggression, but quickly places the cloth over her, blocking her sight. Only shadows and rays of light filter through the weave of the cloth around her head.

Sakura is led up stairs and into another cart, but wherever the cart takes them it is not exposed to daylight. They are underground at times, and far from markets. Sakura feels the cart pitch to the side sharply and they are rising up. Noises grow louder and the smell of dust is mixed in with spices and the sweat of labor as they take the road out. As they roll by Sakura can't hear exactly what is said, but she understands the tone of the murmurs and whispers as they pass.

Sakura closes her eyes and waits as the cart rolls on, agitated about being kept from Sai, but not as angry or rash as she had been yesterday. Sai was smart, smarter than even her. He knew more about the world he was in that she did and he was far older and more clever than she was giving him credit for. She ached to be with him again, and missed him terribly, but she needed to believe in him. She needed to trust he was safe and he could take care of himself without her having to rush in a save him. Still, it was impossible not to miss him. He was her friend, after all.

"Here!" a voice barked.

Seconds later the cart stopped on a jerk and Sakura felt a body shift to bump her as they were jostled in the cart. His hands were tied again, but Kankuro reached for her, feeling her wrist to make sure it was her and not the other prisoner. Blind as she was she could almost feel his grin and wanted to roll her eyes.

Sakura heard more talk from the guards and the latch to their cart was jerked down. She was tugged forward first, having been the one loaded last. Kankuro comes close behind and then the third prisoner has to be dragged by two new guards.

"The High Priestess herself is here for this. Pretty high profile, is it?" one of the new voices asks.

"High enough," Shi says, leading the group forward. "Though some more so than others."

Sakura doubts he thinks of her as high profile, but that sparks her interest in the other two prisoners. She knows Kankuro is an actor, and the other guy was always in chains and struggling, but she didn't know what made them so important. Kankuro said he killed a man and didn't regret it, but what about the other guy? Did it matter? What about her, did they think she was high profile enough to deserve the special audience? She suspected that was the other reason the two drunks had been left behind in the cells.

Someone brushes her arm and Sakura knows it is Kankuro, even though she is still blind behind the bag. Moments later they are stopped and pulled apart. She hears grunts and then something falling to the ground. Kankuro is told to kneel by a guard the same time Darui approaches her and whispers in her ear to do the same. She complies without a struggle.

At once their hoods are pulled off and deposited alongside their knees as they kneel, all facing the same steps leading up to a platform guarded by gauzy white drapes that flutter between the columns. A woman stands in between them all, holding an ankh between her hands, long and golden. Her dress is white and flowing, but does nothing to hide the idealistic shape of her body, ample with curves. Her expression is stern, accented only by the white hood that hides her hair and sets off the black lines around her eyes.

She is an actor, but not one Sakura has ever seen before.

The high priestess opens her mouth and speaks in a way Sakura knows she is reciting. " _The Court that judges the wretch, you know they are not lenient. On the day of judging the miserable, in the hour of doing their task, it is painful when the accuser has knowledge. Do not trust in length of years, they view a lifetime in an hour_!"

A pair of younger girls, each dressed head to toe in white rush forward to the base of the steps, holding boxes in their hands. She waves to the girls and they open their boxes but do not remove whatever lies inside.

"Speak their sins for judgement," the noble woman demands of the guards.

Darui steps forward and bows low before gesturing to Sakura. "She of no house was found by the ruins of the wild god's tomb. By her own tongue she has confessed her trespass and has offered up what she knows of highlighted events."

Sakura feels even more eyes on her, including Kankuro's.

"I have heard your reports and know her story. And the others?"

Shi steps forward, bows low and points to Kankuro. "The noble Kankuro killed established merchant Gato of Greece, confessed his actions freely, and did not resist arrest."

The priestess does not even look at Kankuro, but has her eyes set on the last guard and his prisoner. "And the last one?"

"Beliz, known spy for the King of the Thieves was caught at the Lion's Garrison, avoided arrest, and killed six men before capture. He has been interrogated and divulged minimal information, not including his objective for information on the activities of the tomb of the wild god."

"Does he admit his guilt?"

"No."

"Has he anything to say for himself?"

The guard prods the man and he spits on the floor. "Bite me, bitch."

Sakura can hear Kankuro groan as she herself inwardly winces.

The woman nods to the first girl and she pulls out a golden stand from her box. The other girl pulls out a set of scales to set atop the stand and together they assemble the weighing scales to hold between them. Coming down the stars the High Priestess sets her golden ankh on one said and stands back.

"The cost of life is a heavy weight. We will judge to see if you deserve it." She holds up her hand and Sakura can't help but admire her nails, perfectly polished and clean. "I will now weigh your heart."

"Isn't that going to kill him, if she removes the heart?" Sakura hisses, looking back over her shoulder at Darui. The guard only shakes his head and points to the struggling prisoner, urging her to watch. From beside her, Kankuro is grinning while the woman begins to chant.

The woman's beautiful hand sinks into the man's chest, nary a drop of blood or skin set out of place, and he screams as she reaches into him, stretching out, tugging at something. When she brings her hand back there is no gore. In her palm she holds a stone, or something that looks like a stone. She breaths a little deeper before depositing the glowing stone on one side of the scale. At once the stone pulls down the golden disks in it's direction, appearing heaver, but then the golden Ankh begins to tug the scales on it's side down, down, down until they are even. There is a final wobble before the man's heart rises upward, lighter and less weighted.

"This man has refused the feather of truth, refused to admit his guilt. Thus he has been judged with his life and the gods have found it forfeit." She turns graciously towards the prisoner who looks like he just had his stomach emptied after a long night of drinking. "You have taken many lives. If you wish to absolve yourself of this before your journey into the afterlife the priests will pray and offer sacrifices in exchange for information. You will die, but in death will you find the rolling hills, or the teeth of the devourer for all eternity?"

His heart stays on the scale before she turns to Kankuro and sighs. "I will deal with you last." Next she sets her eyes on Sakura and moves to stand before her. "You have not struggled and you have not refused confession. Speak truth to me now. Why were you at the tombs of the wild god?"

Sakura watches as the woman removes a red feather from inside her dress, the stem dipped in gold. She holds it over Sakura and waits. Sakura gets the impression she shouldn't lie while under what she assumes is some version of the feather of truth, held by the goddess of ancient Egypt Maat.

"I was there with my companion, Sai. We spent several days in the tombs, solving puzzles and learning. On the walls of the tombs there are histories."

"Forbidden histories," a voice from the sides hisses out.

"Silence," the high priestess commands, eyes blazing. With a nod two other guards trikes the man down and he falls to the ground in a low bow that he does not rise from. Still angered, the woman turns back to Sakura. "What else?"

"Theres is a curse…that must be broken. A part of the curse's undoing was believed to be in that tomb, which is why we were there. I don't know what is and what isn't forbidden to you people, I am new to these lands. I came from many places and traveled very far to undo this curse. It's also why I need to find my friend. We were separated. Men dressed in blue with a bird on their masks came and took him from the tomb. Please, I need to get back to him."

"Did you see the god? Did you see who killed the god. That is what we need to know," the priestess says, but her voice is not as cruel or firm as it had been when she talked to the other prisoner.

Sakura closed her eyes, knowing in her heart she shouldn't tell them she had killed the gods. It was better if they underestimate her, but she couldn't lie.

"I remember seeing it." Sakura kept her eyes closed, as if she was trying to remember the scene. "It was huge and crawling and it never seemed to end. It screamed and my ears bled. I still can't hear out of one of them. I….I was hurt. I remember laying on the stones, some of them had fallen down from the ceiling, and I remember lying there, watching Sai pull a dagger out of the body. I remember him standing on the husk of the god, broken and bleeding gold and ink. Sai's blade was black from where he pulled it out of the god."

And as deceptive as Sakura was trying to be, she couldn't hide the way her body trembled at the memory, just a bit. But more than the terror, the thought of loosing Sai scared her even more and she felt that fear in her throat when she pleaded once more.

"Did he kill the god?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, it was already dead when Sai pulled the dagger from its body. I know it wasn't him, but that's what it looked like to the men who took us." Sakura lifted her head. "Please, they took him but I need to get him back. I'm sorry about trespassing, I didn't know that was a crime when we were down there. But please, he's my friend-the only soul I know in this world."

The woman pulled the feather back to her chest and took a step back, away from Sakura. "You spoke truth, but this does not help us. The boy you spoke of was indeed captures by the Lesser Pharaoh and escaped in the same night after being examined. There were no god slaying marks on his body and the let him go for that no doubt. I'm sorry, there is no help we can give you for your troubles."

Sai had escaped? Something fluttered in her chest and Sakura felt relieved to hear about Sai's escape, but more than relief made her heart light. She felt proud for her friend. He was smart and brave and crafty all on his own.

"But still, the forbidden knowledge was forbidden for a reason. More than trespassing, this is not a thing I can ignore."

Sakura's good feeling sank. 'Shit.'

"I must judge you for this." She looked behind her and nodded to the two girls. "Ready the scales."

"What for?" Kankuro called out. "You don't know what she knows. What if she's dumb and doesn't know anything. You didn't even-"

"Shut up!" she seethed rounding on the other male. "I have had it up to here with you. This is the third time this month you have been in this room and no one is pleased for it. I don't care how much of a hero you claim to be, I'm not even going to deal with you this time. Your Pharaoh will be in the audience for that."

Kankuro paled slightly. "Ugh, he's going to be here for that?"

"No," a deafening boom cut through the room as three shadows stepped up behind the curtains at the top of the stairs. Two attendants pulled apart the drapes and a pale man dressed in a white skirt with gold braces across his chest and forearms. A white crown sat atop his head. The Pharaoh of Upper Egypt.

The room fell to their faces in an instant, faster than anyone's ever seen a people bow before. Even Kankuro and the High Priestess were equally swift in their decent to the ground. Only Sakura and the half alive prisoner remained, but Darui pushed Sakura down to bow like everyone else while the other prisoner was beat into position.

"I am here now, Kankuro. You've made trouble for our sister one too many times."

'Our sister?' Sakura thought the choice of words odd. It was hard to tell if they looked like as everyone was wearing makeup and covers over their hair.

"Pharaoh, it is no trouble at all to promote justice in your lands."

The Pharaoh waved her off as if her words were a both before commanding the delegation to rise. He started down the stairs but stopped halfway, watching the group watch him. Nearly all eyes were still downcast. "Than carry on if you can, Temari, I would like to witness this."

"If it so please you, but your safety is our highest concern. Please watch from where you stand and I will continue."

"As you say," the man who looked more like a boy intoned.

Shakily she stood and then nodded to the girls. The one removed the heart that was still on the scales and ran it back to the prisoner. She pushed it back into his chest with a squeak before running back to help the other girl support the scales. Kankuro looked up from where he was kneeling to watch his sister approach Sakura with wide eyes. His black hood had been pushed back and tuffs of sandy brown hair stood out.

Then several things happened at once.

Temari stood in front of Sakura and raised her clean hand. Sakura braced for when it would slide into her and take out her heart, but froze when she saw the slender, pale, youth walk down the stairs to stand beside the Pharaoh. Sai caught her stare and smirked, knowingly. No one else seemed to mind him, but the Pharaoh acknowledge his presence and made no comment on it.

Sakura felt something deep echo in her as Temari's hand came down and met the barrier around her body with a crack. Lightning, or something similar to it, dance out around Sakura before sending the high priestess back across the room and knocking nearly everyone else off their feet.

In the confusion, the prisoner who had been returned his heart found his bonds slack and threw them off, jumping to his feet and pulling out the dagger of his tripped guard. Sakura saw him cross the room and raise his blade over his head, fast as an assassin, to bring it down on the Pharaoh's head.

Sakura cried for Sai who stood right by and leapt up to her own feet, dreaming up a wall of daggers to cross in front of her friend like a shield. But she was too slow and too far away to reach him herself and the assassin was painfully fast.

A wall of sand rose up between them and Sakura felt the room shift as sparkling grains came out of ever corner to form a wall shaped like a hand. It caught the assassin's blade and then melted into a serpent to snatch him up, catching his ankles and crawling up his body to dangle him from his legs.

"Pathetic," the Pharaoh sighed, sounding more tired than anything as his sand seeped further down the body of the assassin. His brother rolled over on the floor and then sprang to his feet shouting, 'Gaara!' but the sand never stopped.

Sakura ignored the ruler and his coffin of sand, and ran straight for Sai who was stepping out from behind her wall of daggers with a smile on his face. She stumbled on a step, knees shaking, before she collapsed on him in a bone crushing hug, paying no mind for the actors or the mess around her. She felt like sobbing in relief when he hugged her back.

She could feel people watching her, but didn't care as she pulled back, out of their hug and looked at his face. Sai was still smiling and opened his mouth to say something.

"Shut up!" Sakura shouted, smacking him across the face. "And stop smiling like that, damn it. You know how worried I was about you?"

Sai frowned, holding the side of his face she had barely hurt. Her hand had been shaking too much. "You shouldn't have worried. I thought you would know I was alright."

"Yeah, I figured you could take care of yourself but I was still worried because I care about your dumb ass you dumbass. Friends are allowed to worry about each other, even if they believe in each other. I just-just…I I'm just glad you're alright." Sakura stepped back and huffed, feeling moisture under her lashes. She groaned, reaching up to wipe the tears away. "Stupid…"

"I'm not stupid. I'm actually very smart. I'm so smart I predicted where you would end up and got here ahead of you," Sai shot back with a pout. "Oh yeah, and I guess that means introductions are in order. Here," he turned sideways and nodded to the Pharaoh who was still smothering a man in sand, though his eyes were fixed on Sakura and Sai. "This is Gaara, another one of the god killers of this world and Pharaoh of Upper Egypt. I'd tell you to make a good first impression on him, but I think we're past all that now. Gaara," Sai turned and addressed the Pharaoh. "This is the girls I was talking to you about. Say hello to Sakura, the other godkiller."

Gaara's eyes were lined thickly in black, making the jade green shade of his eyes stand out all the more as he took her in. Standing on the same step she realized they were roughly the same heigh with him being maybe a little bit taller. On his forehead there was a character in Japanese, looking out of place in the Egyptian setting.

Stiffly, Sakura raised a hand and waved. "Hey. Nice to meet you."

From behind him the sand had completely covered Gaara's attacker and with a muffled shriek, the sand coffin compressed, popping the man inside like a balloon and sending his blood and gore shooting out of the sand vents onto the floor below. One of the girl priestesses screamed while the other cowered, but Sakura never flinched.

Gaara swallowed and then raised his own hand, mimicking her earlier greeting. "Nice to meet you too."

* * *

"What were the names again?" Jugo asked, looking over the spines of the books in their library.

"Kankuro and Temari."

Sakura stood below him on the ground, staring up at her friend who perched on the edge of a ladder in front of a bookshelf filled with personal journals and a collection of transcribed works. Some were older than others, while some were fresh off the press after being copied down into newer editions.

"Yeah," Jugo sighed, scanning the spines. "Neither name rings a bell, but I'm pretty sure we'll have their accounts here somewhere. If they showed up in the last kingdom it might mean they are important."

"True, but I've never seen either of them before. There are some actors I've seen over and over again, like Itachi or Pein. I would have thought they would be the important ones."

"Maybe." Jugo grunts, reaching forward and stretching to pull something off the shelf. "But maybe there is no order to any of it at all. I thought Madara was pretty much the biggest deal, but he's not been seen by a dreamer until you. Yet look at his books."

Sakura looked to where her friend pointed and saw three thick volumes with his name on them. "Yeah, but aren't these huge because he did a bunch of stuff while he was awake in the real world too? His clan was at war with another clan and it was a footnote in history, but he was still a badass about it."

"Yeah, I'll admit to favoring his story. It's almost heroic sounding until you get to the Kingdom of Monsters. Then it's…ehh, lots of sex and stuff. Ugh, and the author is such a pervert about it."

Sakura snickered reaching for the third volume. "Really, now I wanna see." Jugo protests in the background but Sakura has already found a dirty passage and is eyeing it critically. "Wow."

"Sakura!" Jugo is scrambling down the ladder, reaching for her book. Sakura let's him take it from her hands when her shoulders tart to shake.

"Oh my God, I will never be able to forget that passage. The writer called his dick an 'elegant bishop that sprung into action.'" Sakura feels her cheeks pinch as the laughter stays trapped in her belly.

"Oh, that's no anywhere near as bad as Hidan's stuff," Genma calls from across the room. He's sitting in a recliner with his feet propped up on the nearby desk. "Here, listen to this passage where he does it with a-"

Jugo leaps across the coffee table, screaming and waving his hands. The picture of his frantic race to shut up Genma is enough to make Sakura fall apart laughing. She had seen the way Jugo's eyes went wide at the mention of Hidan. Apparently the sadist had a reputation as being one of the more colorfully distracted dreamers.

Jugo had agreed to let Sakura go through their documents on all the other dreamers and their trails to help her get an idea of what she could expect. Sakura wanted to look up the names of the actors she had met in her world, and Genma had agreed to look for Gaara's file.

Before leaving, Danzo had told Log that he would be leaving one of his wards with Sakura at all times, rotating on and off for as long as she was the Obelisk's dreamer. No other mention of her behavior or dramatic exit was brought up, and no one had made the effort to speak to her again about it, though many of the elders still remained on the property in guest rooms.

"That is not what you should be doing," Jugo hissed, snatching the book free. "You said you would find the other's actor's book, so what are you doing reading sadistic smut?"

Genma waved his hands in front of his face, grinning around the toothpick in his mouth. "Um, first off, he's not a sadist. Hidan is a highly misunderstood character and is actually a thoughtful masochist. He kept the same whore lover for an entire month until she was eaten by his monster goats."

"Not the goats!" Jugo covers his ears and then turns to Sakura with wide pleading eyes. "Don't listen to him. You don't deserve it."

"Don't deserve what?"

Sakura turned, laughter seizing as she recognized the old, matronly voice. In the doorway to the library the elder Kahura stands, hands clasped in front of her, resting lightly on her cane. Her eyes are sagged with age and hard to see, but she makes it clear who she is looking at when she nodes to the two boys, fighting over Hidan's journal.

"If you wouldn't mind, I would like a moment of privacy with Sakura chan."

Genma swallows, glancing at Sakura. "I don't know. I'm not supposed to let her out of my sight."

"It's okay," Sakura says, waving his concern away. "I'll shout if I need you, but I hardly doubt I'm in any danger." She looks to Jugo. "I'll meet up with you later."

Both boys leave the room, Jugo more slowly than Genma, and with more backward glances. But he shuts the door behind him, latching it faithfully so the two women are alone. There is a moment while Kahura waits to hear the sound of their footsteps fade away, but they don't go far. Still, it's enough for privacy.

Kahura steps over to the desk where Genma had been sitting and picks up the book, humming. "Hidan and Madara's second volume. I dare say it shouldn't take a detective to see what you kids were looking at."

Sakura raises her shoulders up, ready to defend her shred of happiness should the old woman chastise her for it, but instead Kahura just chuckles in good humor before moving to a bookshelf and bending low to find a thin volume. Sakura waits while the woman takes her time pulling the book out and setting it down.

"When we were younger we were all required to read a set amount of accounts, and the more you red the more respected your input was. I've read all these tomes, even the tales of a Wakatoshi Kyouya, who's family were merchants. It was at a time where the elders were curious about the benefits of mixed or half breeds, since crossed dogs seemed so much healthier and stronger for it." When she looked up she could see Sakura's eyes narrowed and cough into her hand to hide her secret smile. "Yes, those were different times, but his account was enjoyed for significantly different reasons. Waka kun was quite passionate in his distractions while in the Obelisk, and his chronicler recorded in great detail his escapades with his other males…friends. My father thought the account quite vulgar and wanted it banned, but it was only restricted. No such ban exists _now_."

Sakura felt her face flush at the implication from the much older woman. That was not what she had been expecting when the elder first entered the room and asked to speak to Sakura in privet, but then who expects anyone to walk in and start endorsing gat erotica? "O-Oh. Um, thanks for the recommendations?"

The old woman's lips were curling and impish, even if her eyes were old and heavy. "I was once a young girl too. Some days I still feel like a young girl. And then there are other days when I forget I ever was a girl. Yesterday was one of those days. I can not apologize enough for that. But I seek to make recompenses."

"Does that include respecting my decision to not get knocked up and pass on this curse to an unborn child?"

Kahura pursed her lips but after a still moment conceded with a nod. "That is your choice and I will not be the one who shames you for it. But at least let me say my thoughts were with protecting another life from what I see as inevitable demise. No one has ever won this thing."

Sakura crossing her hands over her chest and moves so the weight of her body is more evenly distributed. "I know, and you don't think I'll be the first, I get that."

"That may be what I think, but there are those who believe you may be the end of all our searching. The Obelisk has never tried so hard to find a person, breaking through the seals it has. There were years where it would sit silent, choosing no one even after so many were offered up. That paired with your impressive record, well, you're not the lame horse you see yourself as."

"Trust me, I don't see myself as a lame horse."

"No, you don't, do you? And maybe that's what is needed. Regardless, Danzo sees you as his golden goose, and is eager to support you. Others may believe in you but have very different reactions…"

Sakura bounced a bit on the balls of her feet. "Such as?"

"If you were to win what do you think would happen? Think from the perspective of an old man who hates change. Suddenly a new god is born in their time. Is this something they want?"

Sakura swallowed before nodding. "I guess not. Some might feel that way, but it's not like I asked for this, or even want the prize at the end. I just want to be free from the curse."

"I believe you, but others don't care. They don't want to see a human god, which is one of the reasons why our families rebelled in the first place over a hundred years ago. Some are angry, some are scared. Danzo is right to fear for your safety in the waking world. Please understand this."

Sakura did understand, a little too well. When had death become such an easy thing to suspect and brace for? Two years of dodging it in the dream world and now in the waking world made for a different type of person. Sakura could feel herself change. She wasn't the same person she was before the Obelisk.

"I'll be careful, and I have friends here. I trust Jugo, Genma-as nasty as he can be, and Yamato too. They're all people I thought of as friends even before they knew of the curse or the trials or whatever you call it."

"I wish the best for you, Sakura chan, and I will pray for you, both inside the dream and outside it."

Sakura might have responded, might have said something back, but there was a noise outside and a scuffle before the door rolled back and Yamato marched in, stoping squarely between Sakura and the old woman. Genma sighed, leaning against the wall with Jugo following them in.

Yamato's tone is strained as he forces a polite smile. "Apologies, elder, but we were asked to keep an eye on Sakura without exception. If you have anything else you need to discuss with her please excuse our presense, but I'd rather not leave her alone."

"Of course I understand." Kahura's cat like smile is back in place, stretching up her face. "Danzo is in your ear, of course you are right to be paranoid. Sakura chan and I were just finishing up. Thank you for keeping her safe." Turning to leave the old woman takes a few steps before pausing. "Please do not forget my words, Sakura chan, and enjoy your time here."

Genma stands aside to let the old woman pass while Yamato does nothing but edge closer to Sakura, standing close enough for his warmth to reach out to her. He smells of peaches and a dizzying side of Alcohol. Work clings to him leading her to believe he made a rush to get here.

When Kahura closes the door behind her, Sakura hates how her heart clangs in an echoing reply, already feeling heaver than ever. She knows the old woman is honest with her warnings. Now there is no where that is safe for Sakura, not the dream world nor the waking one.

* * *

AN:/ In case you were wondering, yes, Kahura did just pick out gay porn for Sakura to read. Don't be mad. Next two weeks for sure will have updates, after that I will try my best to keep it going as long as possible, but these long chapters take time.

I also have a A03 account where I'll begin to start uploading stuff (I'm super lazy) that usually shows up on my tumblr... my A03 handle is Vesperchan and of course my tumblr id is vesperlionheart in case you wanted to know.

Please remember to _**review**_ , because really, that's what sustains me.

* * *

RANDOM BITS OF INFO YOU DIDN'T WANT:

Dreamers like Sasori, Pein, and Deidara were a part of the Obelisk during the late Meiji era (1890's) when the elders were considering using the offspring of interracial couples based on the assumption that mutts were stronger and had more vitality in the dreamworld.

The elders were desperate for a champion towards the end of the Meiji era, desperate enough to break with traditions.

Some of these dreamers were borderline unwilling, others were tricked. Deidara did not know what he was getting into, only that he could buy food for his family if he 'played the dreaming game.' Sasori and Pein knew and wanted to live forever/become a god. Like Deidara, they came from the streets and were poor with no family to care for or be cared for by.

The Obelisk came to America during the Taishō era, the 1910's, right before WW1.

Actors older than the Heian Period (794 - 1192) are super rare to come across in the dream world. The longer you've been dead, the more faded your memory becomes to the Obelisk.

Before the Heian Period the Obelisk was in India.

Mizu nin are primarily from the Kamakura Period (1185 - 1333) before the Obelisk fell into the hands of the Uchiha clan, who held possession of the Obelisk until the 14080's or the Warring States era.


	10. Chapter 10

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

 _Seek God in Lesser Forms  
_ _Consumption is sacred union  
_ _The Divine rots in your gut  
_ _And it will flower in your ruin_

Mantra of the Devourer, Matrimony of Teeth and Sinew

* * *

The Account of Uchiha Madara

As the personal scribe to my elder and clan leader, I fear bias when I say that never before has the Obelisk and Dreamer been so well connected that a man could rally his once meager people to the height of ancestral glory while still fully submerged in the dream world.

In past accounts it has been recorded that dreamers withered away in the waking world, plagued by stress and fear. Many were confined to their beds. The trials of the great Obelisk were too much for one mind to handle in proportion to their own reality, yet Madara Uchiha has thrived.

His father was a touched bastard with a crazed mother who wailed about her shining lover in the night. Madara was never supposed to be great, his father was a mess, his grandmother was a cast away whore who spun stories of laying with a god. Maybe that was why the god trials came to Madara over leagues and rivers to choose him as the first Uchiha dreamer.

I have searched and found no evidence of such a feat ever being preformed by the Obelisk save but one. The Obelisk will always chose its own dreams, but very rarely does it ever takes effort to choose a good one.

* * *

Sakura stares at herself in the mirror, seeing the mark of the god-killer on her body in detail for the first time. Sai told her each god would grant their killer a new and different mark, so hers would be different from Gaara's, but his had been a Scarab on his lower back, visible only when he turned around to stalk off with his council. The mark on Sakura was of an eagle winged woman, crouching and extending her hands out underneath Sakura's breasts. It was beautiful, but strikingly new and foreign to her skin. Like Gaara's, it had been inked in gold. When Sakura cut her skin over the mark, she no longer leaked red.

Sakura dropped the white fabric of her shawl over the tattoo. Her dress had been designed so that the fabric crossed up, over her breasts and left her underside and abdomen area bare. Sakura had been encouraged to show off the mark as Sai said it would earn her a bit more privilege and respect, but the feeling was too similar to what she felt when she woke up and saw two men guarding her from different corners of the room.

For so long she had been used to making it work on her own efforts. Her mother had been unreliable even before Sakura became a legally independent adult, and never made life for Sakura seem pampered, but that was okay. Sakura was used to doing things herself and earning her good standing with people. Now, no one looked at her like an equal. She was either the lofty dreamer, destined to die a death worth pitying, or a god-killer who walked with the ichor of the fallen in her veins.

"Are you decent?" Sai asked from the other side of the screen.

Without answer, Sakura collapsed the screen part way and walked around the rest. "That's a silly question. Did you see what they wanted me to wear? No support at all."

Sai shrugged. "Some of the women here don't wear tops at all. It's terribly hot."

"That's their choice, but I'm my own person and I make my own choices for my own reasons, not because of anyone else. Besides, Gaara was pretty adamant about my identity being kept secret. He didn't want the other god-killer or the other Pharaoh guy knowing about me being in his court."

"They'll know soon enough, they have spies in the very walls of the palace. I can't imagine they'll be kept in the dark much longer, even if most of the guards were killed for it."

Sakura froze where she stood. "What?"

Sai turned to regard her calmly. "He executed several of the guards to demonstrate his desire for their silence. They are his men, they know their lives are in his hands every second of the day and were glad to die for a man god. Such a fate only guarantees them favor in the afterlife. Besides, none of them were actors, just wisps of imagination."

"Does he know that?" Sakura crossed to stand directly in Sai's way, staring down at him as he reclined in the seat set up with burgundy and maroon pillows all laced with gold. "Gaara, is he like Madara?"

Sai blinked, face blank. "What makes you think that?"

Sakura shook her head, thankful for the freedom and lightweight not having to wear their jewelry gave her. "I don't know. I just had a feeling about him and I thought about what they said during my trial. What I knew about the other actors in the tombs was forbidden information. But more than that, Gaara just seemed more….ugh, I don't know how to describe it. He felt different from the other actors and I might not have noticed if I hadn't spent so much time with Madara."

Sai's blank face melts a bit as a smile stretches across his face. "You were able to notice that? How interesting."

"Was I right? Does Gaara really know about the Obelisk and the curse and what he really is?"

Sai leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him while watching her. "Gaara is a special case, just like Madara. Yes, he is an aware actors and was restricted to only this Kingdom for that reason. Likewise, Madara was restricted to only the Kingdom of Monsters. Though he might not be as aware as Madara. You'll understand what I mean when you talk to him more." He unclasped his hands and braced them on his knees to stand. "Speaking of which, I'm sure he's eager to have your audience. He's likely more collected this morning. It's been a while since he had to treat someone like an equal without being malicious. The only one who can rival him in this world is the King of the Thieves, but that actor doesn't know about the Obelisk or the curse, so even he is not Gaara's equal."

"What should I know about him before we meet? I wasn't able to get any information about him in the waking world. I got sidetracked and we forgot about looking for Gaara's text."

Sai stood and walked towards the door. When he passed her he spared her a pat on the shoulder in what Sakura assumed was encouragement. "I think it would be best if you saved the getting to know him part for when you actually meet. Knowing too much of a person can make it hard to connect I've read. Know that he won't hurt you. Even if he wished to, he is wise to fear you."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of being feared. I'm not a bad guy…" Sakura grumbles tugging the front of her dress so it sits straight over her breasts and doesn't shift too far to one side. There were gold collars for that, but Sakura didn't wear anything gold.

"Fear of the gods is healthy. It's right to understand that there is a difference between mortal and non." Sai walked to the end of her room and paused nodding to the door. It had been left open, like most of the doorways in the palace. He paused to speak the rest of his thoughts. "The difference between the powerful and the weak."

Sakura huffed, marching past him into the hallway and stopping to wait for him to lead her the rest of the way. "Yeah, we can agree to disagree, why don't you show me where I need to go so we can meet this Gaara guy. You know I'm lost without you."

"I think you would have been fine without me." Sai slipped in front of her and led her down the halls as easy as smoke on the wind.

They passed into an open courtyard lined with columns before taking a turn down some stairs into a shallow pool not deep enough to cover ankles. A walkway separated the waters and led to a secluded are, quartered off with hanging cotton that flapped in the breeze. Beyond the white curtains the pools grew deeper and dotted with floating lily pads and other Nile indigenous plants.

The walkway turned into a island, surrounded on nearly every side by waters and covered by another set od white drapes to keep the area shaded and cool. Gaara stood with his back to her at the edge of the island where the platform melted into steps leading down into the water.

Sai was soundless as smoke, but Sakura made a point to scuff her sandals on the walkway so that he heard them coming. He didn't look surprised to see them when he turned to face the pair of them, but Sakura didn't miss the way he suddenly drew himself up, pushed back his shoulders, and lifted his chin.

There was a small table by the edge within arm's reach where his crown sat. Without it Sakura could see his hair was red and messily arranged, curling around his ears. She wondered if he meant to be caught without it, or if he had removed his crown as a sign of respect. Did he respect her?

Sai dipped into a casual bow, but Sakura remained standing behind him, remembering Sai's words from earlier, about how she wasn't supposed to show any difference now that she was outed as a god killer. She needed to look the opposite of weak, so no bowing. Still, she didn't want to be rude, so she inclined her head and lowered her eyes for a heartbeat before lifting them the same moment Sai rose from his bow.

Gaara's stare settled on Sai, turning stony all of a sudden. "When you said you would bring the dreamer before me I hadn't expected her to be in chains, nor for there to be such improper introductions."

Sakura had to blink when she thought she saw a flush over the young Pharaoh's cheeks. Still, his eyes were hard as stones that held Sai in place, unwavering in intensity.

"I hadn't anticipated her playing the role of captive so willingly. Would that have been something you would have done for your siblings?" Sai replied, smiling easily.

"There would be no need for such a thing," Gaara near sneered.

"Ah, apologies, but people speak so much freely when they're not worried about accidentally slipping and angering a god." Sai turned his face to peer over his shoulder at her. "Isn't that right, Sakura?"

Gaara's eyes snapped from Sai's the Sakura, un-clicking and clicking like the claps on a suitcase. Their stony continence lessened slightly and a new sheen of weariness took over.

Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest, over where the cotton shawl draped, covering the bare of her chest. "I just wanted to find Sai, and I needed clues. Best place to get those seemed to be in chains, though at least this time I knew I could free myself whenever I wanted. No one was quite so weary of a little girl lost in the desert." She cantered her eyes to the side, remembering something before smiling back at Gaara. "Kankuro is your brother, right? He was nice. He didn't give away any state secrets, but he did help me understand this place a little better."

"I…will be sure to pass on your kind words," Gaara forced out, looking like he was bracing himself to force the words out. "He was not…crude?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose, holding back a grin. "Not in my experience. He said I was pretty though. Nothing wrong with that, though I think he was exaggerating. I was still a mess from the fight. I looked terrible." She nudged Sai as if to convey the non verbal 'remember that?' message.

"His words were… inadequate," Gaara ground out, shoulders tensing even more as his face flushed from concentration. When she coxed her head to the side, staring at him questioningly he gripped the fabric of his skirt. He seemed tenser than she suspected he had a right to be. Last time she had seen him he seemed so fluid and graceful, sure in his power as he gazed down the steps at all his lessers.

"Sai, if you don't mind," Sakura turned to him and raised her eyebrows. "Give us some privacy?"

With a nod the Sigh of Dejection bowed to Gaara once more and turned to leave the way he came. Once he was beyond the fluttering drapes Sakura turned back to Gaara and fit her hands over her hips.

"You okay?"

"Fine," Gaara bit out, but she could see how his jaw was all hard lines. He blinked at her scrutiny and looked away. "I am of no concern. I apologize for my inadequacies in communicating. The Sigh of Dejection told me of your last fight in my kingdom."

"Ah, he told me a little bit about you too. You killed a god called the Deamon Sultan, the deity of nuclear chaos or something like that. That's a pretty big deal here, isn't it?"

"You thought it wouldn't be?"

Sakura recognized what she couldn't earlier. He was weary around her, more than just nervous. He watched like like he was watching a wavering firework in the sky, waiting for it to blow and splatter. It was as if he didn't doubt she would turn into violence on him. Was he weary of a fight?

Sakura huffed, stepping back and turning towards the stairs leading into the waters. She stepped down until just her toes were wet-her sandals melting into dream with a thought. She heard Gaara followed but he stayed up on the platform watching her.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Sakura sighed. She took another step down into the waters and then turned to look back over her shoulder at him. "You know I'm the dreamer." It wasn't a question.

"I do."

"You know I'm trying to get to that Obelisk in the middle of the sandstorm Sai says is somewhere between all the old tombs." When he nodded she went on. "Sai also told me that I would need all the gods to undo the sandstorm but you have one, and that means two things if I want to beat this stupid curse. I kill you and take your god or get your help."

He swallowed and she felt something like satisfaction at the confirmation of her suspicions. "And what have you decided?"

Sakura didn't say anything at first, but moved her ankle out, sending ripples through the water. "I have no stomach for slaughter, and I don't have the desire in my heart to strike you down for so petty a reason."

Gaara laughed and it was a dark bite of ice in the desert. She was shocked by it but refused to show that fear. "You think I would be so easy to cut down?" He paced half a step back and something swirled behind the edges of his skirt: sand. "What if I killed you now and put an end to it?"

"Then the dream would end and you would be in limbo again. I don't know what Sai told you of the world since you left it, but the Obelisk is in the hands of people who are sworn to protect it and keep it from choosing dreamers. I was an unlucky mistake, but with their vigilance how many dreamers do you think will make it to the last and only kingdom you are allowed to exist in?"

He narrowed his eyes and she was relieved to see a flicker of recognition there. She hadn't misjudged his motives. He didn't want to go back to the void any more than Madara did. Still, that was no guarantee he would help her. Sakura watched him, noticing more and more grains of shimmering sand rotate around his head like a halo, catching the light and shining in warning. Sai had told her he could control sand and it was his primary means of both attack and defense in battle. He was an expert in his chosen style and would not be easy to beat. Sand armor, sand shields, sand daggers… Even if Sakura thought she stood a chance, she had been honest when she said she didn't want to kill or fight Gaara.

There was silence between them before the rotating sand stilled and Gaara opened his mouth to speak again. "What if I don't agree to help you? What if I don't believe this Obelisk is worth uncovering?" He moved to the end of the stairs and loomed close. "What then will you do?"

"I won't kill you-not unless you come for my life and I have no other option but to defend myself. I can promise you that." She swallowed, nodding in confidence. "I'll convince you."

"I am not so easily bullied. I know my siblings are truly dead, you can not threaten me with their deaths."

Sakura turned around in the waters, sighing. "I don't know what kind of person you think I am but I'm not going to bully you by threatening the lives of your loved ones."

"I never said they were loved ones."

Sakura wrinkled her nose at that. "They seemed to care for you. They're your family."

"Doesn't mean anything."

His face seemed to color again and Sakura was reminded of a child, arguing a point that he had taken up on stubborn principal alone. When she looked at him again she couldn't help but see him more as a child than a man.

"Is there something you want that I could give you for your help?"

"I don't need anything."

"Is there something I could do?"

"I am fully capable with my own abilities."

"You're real fun, you know that?" The comment threw him off, but Sakura didn't know if it also offended him when she saw his cheeks redden. He was too much like a child and children don't like to be spoken to as children.

"You speak brazenly."

She rolled her eyes, kicking at the water. "Should I not? You're kind of spoiled with no one here to treat you like an equal. Even your brother and sister fall down on their faces when you walk into the room. When was the last time you talked to someone and actually had to work for the conversation? Do you even remember such a time?"

He couldn't. She saw the answer to her question in the lines of his face as he set his jaw and hardened his stare. Maybe it had been a mistake to send Sai away. Maybe she made a mess of things. She hadn't anticipated fighting with this actor, hadn't anticipated antagonizing him, but here she was, no closer to an ally than when she first appeared before him, a mess in rags and bleeding feet. Her feet were always bleeding.

Sakura opened her mouth for an apology but was cut off when the sand around Gaara's head swirled and shifted visibly. If sand could speak she would suspect it would hiss words of agitation.

"There is an island out in the middle of the river," Gaara began, pulling the sand back close to him, resting it on his cheeks and shoulders like glitter. "I like to go there and train on my own, but I have been advised not to travel without an escort, as the plots to take my life grow more numerous with each new day. You will join me and we shall spar."

Sakura blinked, processing his words slowly. "Spar, as in fight…like without trying to hurt each other?"

"I don't know how to talk to you, but I am at least skilled in this one way," Gaara bit out, crossing his arms over his chest. "We will spar, for every hit you land I will answer a question honestly. For every hit I land, you will confess a truth to me. Is this not agreeable?"

Sakura stayed still in the waters, letting the cool seep into her ankles. She wasn't stupid. She knew what he wanted from her, and it wasn't a work out. He wanted to see her abilities and measure them against his own. She was still a bomb in his eyes, and he still thought she was going to go off on him. Her words wouldn't sway him, but maybe her actions would.

Sakura climbed back up the steps and out of the water, letting the wet trails of her skirt drop onto the platform. "I don't have any objections. If I beat you will you agree to help me?"

"No. Questions only."

"What if I really beat you, like wipe the floor with you. If I'm super impressive will you agree to help me?" Sakura asked, needling him with a teasing grin.

Gaara was unmoved. "No, questions only."

And then without another word he turned and began to walk away from her, off the platform and onto the water's surface the same way the boys from the village hidden in the mist had taught her. Sakura followed, stepping onto the water easily and following alongside. She doubt she surprised him with her ability to water walk, but he glanced over at her anyway, watching her feet fail to fall through.

The pool leaked into a major river, wide and stretching. Gaara led her down a ways until Sakura saw a stretch of land rise up in the middle, an island just like he said there would be. Sakura stepped onto the sand and stopped while Gaara just kept walking until he was at the opposite end. When he turned back to face her more than just the sand at his feet stirred and shifted.

'What have I gotten myself into?' Sakura mentally screamed, forcing on a smile as she straightened her shoulders.

"What are we playing to?" she called. "First blood?"

"Hardly. We will contest until one member is unable to fight or one member concedes defeat. Killing is to be avoided."

Sakura chuckled bitterly, readying herself with a wider stance, lowering the weight of her body and making it harder to be knocked over. "Weapons?"

He waved his hand and sand rose up under his palm into the shame of an arm, turning, orbiting, circling his hand. "Whatever you can summon."

Sakura watched the orb of sand turn smooth and flawless after another rotation around his wrist. She felt a heat bloom between her breasts and raised a hand to meet it. The shawl fell away and from the light of her chest she drew her bone sword, gleaming and sharp. The scabbard was already in her opposite hand, thick with new designs. At the very end she saw tentacles and knew her victory had been remembered.

Gaara eyed her wearily as she leveled her weapon, likely surprised by her unconventional summoning. It was flashy, but she liked to show off sometimes. She twirled it once and the held it straight. The shawl was gone and she knew her tattoo was on full display. He hadn't missed _that_ his eyes told her

"Begin?" she asked, voice teasing, even if her legs were shaking.

Gaara raised both his hands, the orb shifting to circle the back of his head like a tilted halo. "Begin."

The sand under her feet was the first to shift and she had to dive for the edges of the island, stepping into the shallows to avoid the glittering sand spikes that rose up out of sand. Another projectile forced her back onto the water and she cut it away with a wide swipe. 'Killing is to be avoided?'

Sakura pushed off the water and made a mad dash around the edge of the island, avoiding the sand. Gaara watched her cooly, never moving except to maybe twitch his hands. The sand around him rose up like arms, reaching for her. So many hands from too many directions forced her to break off her approach.

One came too close and she had to twist, loosing sight of Gaara, to take shelter behind a dreamed up shield. When she came out from behind it she cursed at what she saw. No longer at the opposite end of the island, Gaara stood dead center in the middle of it, surrounded on every side by sand and waving arms ready to strike.

At least when she struck out at the sand arms they fell apart easily. It wasn't unlike her battle with the Crawling Chaos and all it's tentacles, but back then she didn't have to worry about the ground she stood un rising up in stalagmite sharp points.

But she didn't need to kill this opponent, and that made all the difference.

When Sakura spun, turning and twisting over herself it was the world that moved, not her. She swiped it down and down until she was above Gaara, jumping off the dreamed up platforms with a halo of revolving knives, orbiting her head like a star. Each one launched for a different part of his body and each one was easily deflected.

'If you want to get close you're going to have to work for it,' Kisame's memory growls in her ear.

Sakura roars and there are twice as many knives around her, spinning like the veins of a chainsaw as she launches down at Gaara. She sees his eyes go wide and sand shoots up to protect him, forming a cage and then a ball to lock him in. Sakura tears through part of it, but what she touches reacts with violence. A spear jumps out from where her daggers just cut, and Sakura feels red trickle down her cheek.

First blood belongs to Gaara.

Sakura summons more naked blades, lacking hilt or pommel, and folds them into a shield to guard her as she strikes spikes hit her blade wall, but her strikes yield her no more advantage. As soon as she tears open a patch, more sand races to that spot and spits out at her. She isn't fast enough to make any significant damage.

Sakura feels the shift under her and summons a platform under the balls of her feet to raise her up before the quicksand could sink her down. The whole expanse of the island is shifting, swirling and turning, gasping like a hundred tiny mouths for a bite of her.

Sakura can't help but giggle, feeling nerves threaten to make her sloppy. Gaara isn't an enemy, but he's frightening and that's nearly all she can focus on. She's not angry enough or bloodthirsty enough to see past her fear and do what she needs to do. There isn't enough motivation for her to strike like she did when it meant protecting and defending Sai. It never mattered what it was she fought, all that mattered was what was at stake.

'But you don't need to beat him, you just need to get in a few good hits.' Kisame's voice is almost angry in her head, like he's exasperated with how slow she is being.

Slow.

A small smile curls her lips as she begins to see what it is she needs to do. It won't be enough to guarantee a win, but it gets her a shot and at this point that's all she can hope for.

Sakura shoots another volley of daggers and they go wild, aimed for different parts of his body. Gaara's sand works to block them all, stretching thin. It's when his sand arms are all out, half a dozen of them reaching for different daggers, that Sakura swipes with her sword, pouring chakra into the blade that shoots off it like a sickle of wind.

Sakura sees the green shaded scar of chakra cut open Gaara's sand and before the sand can heal, she is there, slipping in. Her body is still humming with the chakra she forced into it to make her fast enough when she reaches out to grab him. She catches a fistful of his hair, but it knocked to the side by a piano sized fist of sand. She tumbles into the water, bones cracked, a fistful of red hairs between her fingers.

The waters lap up to her ears as she lies on her back, moaning and coughing blood. She sees more sand rise up and summons a dome of transparent stone to protect her. The sand comes down with a might boom, then falls harmlessly off the curves of her dome.

Somewhere Sakura has dropped her sword because it's not in her hand anymore, and all she can feel are the ribs that aren't whole anymore. She feels shaky and dizzy and the waters are too cool and inviting for her to feel safe.

There's blood on her face she ignores in favor of raising her glowing hand to her side. Bones are harder to heal and take longer to mend. The cut on her face isn't worth it. It's with a groan that she finds her internal injuries to be worse than she first assumed. Stupid, she was stupid not to put on some stupid armor that could at least deflect some of the blunt force.

Outside another pair of fists made out of sand pound on her dome, again and again. Sakura hears the boom of each strike and it's with some fear that she realizes it's further and further away. Her hearing is either going or she's loosing her grip on consciousness.

She needs to heal herself, reinforce the dome, and dream up projectiles to launch. If she's focused she might be able to do two of those things, but she's too bruised to think straight for more than one, she knows. She's sinking further into the wet sand and water.

Sakura breaks open her dome like an egg and raises one arm high, already seeing the sand form a fist not far off. "I yield!"

Sakura shouts, keeping her other hand on her side. His hand of sand is still in the air and Sakura knows how to endure pain, so it's with growing dread she summons half her dome back, ready to spread it further until his sand hand is gone. Between dome and sand his eyes meet hers and lock into place. Something about his gaze fits and the sand melts. With a shuddered breath he steps back and Sakura lets the rest of her dome fall.

She lets her eyes close, refusing to abandon the rest of her senses as she pours more chakra into her side. The internal mess needs to be fixed first, then the bones. She wouldn't be able to heal everything in one night. The next time she dreamed she would finish, but for now all she could do was the minimum.

She heard the sand crunch and peaked out to see gold sandals stop close to her face.

"Ow," she said out loud, laughing in good humor.

"You touched me." His voice was a far away breath, eyes still wide and gaping.

"I touched you? You nearly killed me!" Her laugh started to hurt and she had to wheeze the rest of her breath out. "I can't believe that was you going easy on me."

"I wasn't." Gaara crouched down closer to her, hands resting on his bent knees. "I didn't go easy on you."

"I thought you were trying to kill me. Sorry I wasn't more of a challenge for you, but I'm not up to the task of fighting for the sake of fighting. Ugh, I'll need to change that if we ever go again."

Gaara leaned forward, almost close enough to touch her with his knees, but it was his hand that traced the cut down her face. "I've never been touched in a fight before. I owe you an honest answer to a question."

"Yeah, but I owe you two. You got my face and my side. I guess that means you go first." Sakura paused a moment, feeling the world around her. "I still have some time left before I have to wake up."

Sakura sucked a sharp breath, eyes flowing wide when she felt the wet sand of the lake shift under her. She rolled closer to Gaara and his arms reached out to hold her, pick her up and fold her against his chest. If Sakura thought clearly, she might have found it funny for someone nearly her height to be carrying her, but her side still hurt, so all she could do was laugh to hide the pain and ask what he was doing.

"You're hurt, I'm taking you back."

"You're not going to ask your questions?" Sakura asked absently, watching as the sand shifted around them to carry Gaara across the lake.

He didn't even bother to walk her across the water the way he had to get out to the island. She faltered in her healing, but started up again once the white drapes of the back of Gaara's palace came into view. When they touched down no one was there to greet them. That wasn't surprising.

"Can you walk?" Gaara asked, keeping her in his arms with no indication of letting her down. That was fine, there was something nice about the contact, like it was easier to trust someone when they're holding you.

"Is that your first question?" she asked with a teasing grin.

He frowned. "If that was, would you answer any other questions I might have?"

"That's two questions and the answer to both are, yes, I can walk, and yes, I will answer your questions. But…you don't have to put me down if you don't want to, I haven't finished healing my ribs yet."

Gaara didn't say anything, but he did nod and walk to the end of the platform where his long white crown sat on the table. Next to the table was a long day bed thick with pillows. His sand pushed some of the pillows away and arranged others for her to lounge across. Slowly, tenderly, he lowered her to the day bed and let her go before drawing up a chair for himself. Sakura sighed in contentment, settling into the cushions.

"Better?" he asked on a bated breath, quieter than before.

"Oh yeah, I've been in far worse scraps than this. I think I would have died in the first kingdom if I didn't get to the Obelisk in time. Stabbed, clean through, the knife was still in me." Sakura winced at the memory. "Another time I was nearly torn apart by wolves."

"You've come a long way."

Sakura looked up over the pillows. "Not on my own. I had friends help me in every world, every kingdom, every gate…I wouldn't be here if I relied on my own. Sai is proof of that."

"The Sigh of Dejection does not take sides easily, not after so many years and so many dreamers. I wondered what made you different when he came to me."

"Did you find what you were looking for in our fight?"

Gaara leaned back in his seat, reaching up to run a hand through his hair before pausing and retracting his hand. "I think I started to see it." His hands fidgeted, resting on his knees. He seemed less like a Pharaoh and more like a boy. "I'll ask my first question of you now, if you don't mind."

Sakura yawned, nodding once. "Sure."

"How long have you been dreaming?"

Sakura opened her eyes but stared off into nothing, remembering a very different setting with almost the same question. But she wasn't surrounded by a council of elders. Here, there was only another one time dreamer.

"Two years. I've been at this for two years."

He made a noise, registering her answer before replying. "I would have guessed longer. You don't look as young as I would expect for that little time."

Sakura felt her eyes narrow all on their own before turning her head, stiffly, to stare at the redhead. "Did you just call me old looking?"

He didn't seem to understand the significance of his comment, of feel the weight of her glare. When he responded his tone of voice was unchanged, and his facial expressions unreadable. "Mostly it was children who were forced into the Obelisk's trials during the time I was alive. Youths who were old enough to run and hunt went into the dream and stayed in the Kingdom of man, learning how to manipulate it, for years until maturation. By the time they reached the last kingdom, they were usually just barely adults, but you've only been here two years. Things have changed."

"Yeah, you did hear the part where Sai told you it was an accident that put me here, right? I never wanted any of this, hell, I didn't even know about any of this when I accidentally opened that stupid Obelisk. It was a mistake, and for nearly two years I thought I was going crazy every night because there was no one I could talk to about what was happening to me. Yeah, I'm an adult, and I've only been in the Obelisk two years, but from what I understand, the youth reaping process of your day faded out. They stopped doing it."

"Do you know when that was?"

Sakura shook her head. "Hey, it was just in the past week that I found these people who knew anything about the Obelisk. I'm only starting to learn a little bit about it. I know there were phases. Like for a few dozen years they were only reaping people from mixed parentage. I'll look into it if you want me to."

Gaara blinked and then shook his head, leaning back into his seat. "No, that won't be necessary. I haven't the true desire for such information. Thank you for answering my question."

"You still got one more question to ask."

"I thought you said I could ask as many as I wished and you would answer them."

Sakura grinned. "Yeah, but I'm not going to stick around forever. I can feel the far off pull of the dream world closing. I'll have to wake up soon. You still got time, but it would be fair to warn you that it's not a lot."

"You haven't been here very long."

His words began even before hers ended, and she looked up suddenly, healing glow faltering for a moment before she regained her focus. It wasn't a hasty declaration or a cry or outburst, but Sakura could have sworn she heard something else in his voice.

'He's still a child at heart.'

"I'm coming back tomorrow, like it or not, so don't fret. Save your questions for then?"

She noticed a part of his skirt was wrinkled to fit between his fingers. He played with it, stretching it out and dropping it. "What about your family? Who is in your family?"

Sakura thorough it was a funny question for him to fix on, but didn't comment on it. "I have a mom who's still alive, but she's sick and has to be with people who can take care of her. I've been living on my own for maybe four years. I have friends I stay with sometimes, and right now the family of my friend is taking care of me because of the Obelisk thing."

"No siblings or father?"

Sakura shook her head. "Never had any brothers or sisters. My dad committed suicide when I was a kid." She wrinkled her nose up at the memory, having preferred to forget it as was typical for her. "But he left my mom before that and I didn't see a lot of him growing up. It's…not what you would call ideal, if that's what you're looking for."

"So you didn't have anyone else to help you through the Obelisk?"

When Sakura shook her head there was only silence after. Gaara seemed to be content to think and mull over her words on his own.

Absently a beetle buzzed high overhead, the sound of his wings like warm velvet in Sakura's ears. She closed her eyes to it and when she opened them again Gaara was standing and reaching for his crown. She watched him settle it over his hair, making sure to take care and let all the red be covered before his hands could leave the long white hat.

"Your presence has been noted, Toruné. Report." Gaara's voice is like ice water down her spine, and Sakura realizes that there has been a shift. Before Gaara had been human, an equal. Now he spoke like a king, like a Pharaoh, like a god.

She turned to see just beyond the platform on the other side of the cloth there was the shadow of a figure. Around him a half dozen beetles hovered, landing and launching off his lowly bowed form. "I have detected the presence of Shino's kikaichū beetles in your garden. My own Rinkaichū have devoured all, but I fear my alternates was delayed. I can not guarantee the privacy of the last few minutes. Forgive me."

Gaara is still for what feels like minutes, unmoving, un-responding. In just seconds Sakura begins to grow uncomfortable with the atmosphere and can only imagine what the man on the other side of the drams can be feeling.

Sakura lowers her glowing hand from her side, knowing she is nearly finished but not quite done. Swinging her legs off the edge of the couch she stand and walks to where Gaara is. He glances at her, but doesn't say anything. Finally, he focuses his eyes on the shadow of the man in a low bow.

"How long?" he growls out, and Sakura feels the cold water on her spine freeze. Gaara sounds ready to kill. It didn't help that the grain of sand left in the cracks between tiles started to shift under their feet. Sakura hadn't dreamed up sandals since removing them earlier, so each speck moving under her toes was felt.

"Between five and eight minutes."

"So long. What excuse do you have for you inadequacies?"

To his credit, the voice of the man never wavered. He was strong in his replies, even when it was clear he was fearful for his life. Sakura didn't doubt Gaara had killed others in similar situations. Sai's words from earlier make her ears burn. _He executed several of the guards to demonstrate his desire for their silence._

"My cousin was able to cross breed his insects with several of my own. The offspring were not immediately detected by their pheromones. My beetles had to rely on other senses."

"Will this happen again?" It wasn't truly a question. It would have been better if Gaara said something along the lines of: 'this will not happen again,' or 'see to it this never happens again.'

"No, Great Pharaoh."

"Is it that big of a deal?" Sakura asks, voice low as she crosses her arms over her chest. She doubts the man named Toruné can't hear her words, but she keeps them low anyway. "What do you care if others know such trivialities? It's not like they can do anything about it."

Gaara turns to look at her, and his eyes are sharp for a moment before he realizes who he is looking at. He blinks and takes half a step back, hands fisting at his side. "They'll know you're here. Other will want to kill you for your godkiller mark."

"Yeah, but that's the same for you, right? I mean, it's not like we'd make it easy for them. If it's me you're worried about then forget it. I don't care who knows or sees." It's the nature of the dreamer to always be in danger. It's a truth Sakura knows too well. Almost as well as nothing risked nothing gained. She's not going to get to any of the other marks if she's hiding behind Gaara's walls. When his eyes fall to the side of her body still discolored and bruises it's Sakura who has to take a step back and fit her hands over her hips. "I can take care of myself, despite what you might think."

"You'd be best to trust her," a new voice calls. Sakura looks up to see a black clad figure push the drapes aside and stroll through. Sai smiles easily at Gaara and bows low, though not nearly as low as the man still on his hands and knees. "I came to tell you that your brother and the high priestess are requesting your intimate audience in your privet chambers. You can leave Sakura in my care."

Gaara stiffens and Sakura can no longer read the expressions of his eyes as different reactions flicker there before settling into stony indifference. "You may see to it." Gaara turned his face from Sai's the glance at her, not fully facing her but seeing her just as well. "We will speak when you next dream."

And then he was gone in a swirl of sparkling sand.

Dismissed, the man who was surrounded by beetles rose as well and backed away, leaving Sai and Sakura alone. Sai eyed her bruised ribs with a softer smile and Sakura huffed, face turning red.

"I see you two sparred. He did not look so worn."

"I managed to grab his hair. Besides, I was going easy on him."

"Sure you were." Sai's grin just grew.

"Shut your face. I'm going to be leaving soon. What do you want other than to make me feel bad about stuff I can't help?" When he didn't immediately reply, only grinned harder, Sakura huffed in frustration and flicked his nose, forcing a laugh out of him. "Shut up."

"Did you get him to agree to help you dismantle the storm?"

"Did you know there was no way he was going to agree to help me dismantle the storm?" Sakura sassed back, hands back on her hips.

"It is only your second day with him, and your first exchanging words. Do not expect so much so soon. He seemed to like you well enough. You're not dead."

Sakura barked an angry laugh, one hand reaching back up to her ribs stimulating it with chakra again. "Just barely. I'm lucky I got of so light." She let her hand fall away and lowered her voice. "I'm no good in such wide fights. I don't know how I'll manage anything more."

"You'll manage. There's only one more wild god to slay and two godkillers to win over."

"Oh, is that all?" Sakura snips with a roll of her eyes. "Yeah, and who's to say the other godkiller doesn't want to just kill me and take my stupid tattoo as soon as he sees me. Hell, who's to say Gaara doesn't try to kill me after waking up tomorrow and realizing I'm annoying and this world isn't worth existing in or something like that."

Sai looked down at his nails, humming as he ran and absent thumb over the tips of his nail beds. "If Gaara found you annoying I don't think he would be as fixated on getting advice from his siblings on how to communicate better with you." He looked up under his lashes and grinned when Sakura's face reddened. "It would be terribly fun to watch if you're interested."

She was saved from having to answer as the dream around began to break down. She glanced away quickly and before she could look back at Sai she was waking up inside the room Jugo's family had set up for her.

* * *

Sakura blinked once and then shifted onto her side, moaning when the not quite healed bones of her ribcage screamed. It wasn't terrible, nowhere near the worse she's ever had to wake up with, but it motivated her to stay in bed a little longer. No one else was in the room with her, but the walls were thin, and she knew if she said anything more someone would hear her.

With careful movements, Sakura reached for her phone and dragged it across the floor to her futon. 7:09 It wasn't too late in the morning, but most of the house was already up.

She rolled up the end of her shirt and shifted to see as much as she could of it. The bruise was impressively ugly. Good thing it was just as easy to hide.

When she rolled back the door to her room and stepped out onto the porch it took only seconds for Jugo to do the same from alongside her. Their rooms had been set together so close on purpose. Neither Genma or Yamato were in sight, but Sakura knew that it wouldn't be long before she saw either of them.

Jugo took a step towards her and then froze. Sakura saw something like anger settle over her features and her mind reeled, trying to understand it. Her bruises were covered, there was no way he would know about those unless he had x ray vision, and she doubted that.

"Jugo?" she called hesitantly.

He erased the distance between them and grabbed her face, Sakura tensed at the touch and felt her heart drop when his thumb brushed over the cut on her cheek she had forgotten about. Compared to her ribs, the cut wasn't worth her time.

"Ooops," she breathed, hoping a joke might calm him. "Forgot about that."

His thumb brushed over the cut and Sakura winced when she felt the crusted blood flake away. "What do you mean you forgot? What happened? You're hurt."

"It wasn't a big deal. I was sparring, it was a friendly fight and I didn't do too well. Jugo, I'm fine. Look, it wasn't a big deal. I didn't bother to heal it because I forgot about it, that's how little a deal it is."

But his hand were still shaking and Sakura couldn't help but suspect he was remembering the way she looked in that hospital bed, or the way she looked when his grandfather first found here, bleeding and wounded in the dirt of their apple orchard. He wasn't used to seeing so much blood and pain

"What happened."

"So I found my friend and he was staying with this Pharaoh who is also a godkiller, like he killed one of the wild gods, the same as me. He's nice, but he's like a kid. Oh, and he's aware, like the way Madara Uchiha way. He knows about the Obelisk and so he knows it's better for him to keep me alive, least I die and the dream ends."

When Jugo swallowed audibly Sakura knows she has said more than she should have. "Anyway, he's nice. He's a little shy and socially stunted, to be honest. We had a spar and I lost, but I'm not in any danger so you don't need to be worried about me."

Jugo drops his hands from his face and swallows again. "I'm not worried. I…I said I would trust you."

Sakura wonders if Jugo truly knows what it means to believe and trust in someone. He's too afraid for her safety to believe in her the way she once urged him to. Maybe she asked too much of him that time. Maybe Jugo has too much heart and too much kindness to not know how to believe in her if believing means watching her suffer and struggle.

"I'll clean this up and then we can go to breakfast. Do you know if Yamato or Genma are still here?"

"They should still be here. Danzo is also at the manor and will likely want to see you. Let's get breakfast first."

She turned towards the bathrooms, knowing they're detached and separated from all the bedrooms at the old house. Jugo is kind enough to wait for her to freshen up without wandering off. She has her hair up off her neck and gathered into a clip she walks out, face cleaned and cut near invisible for how shallow it truly was. A few stray hands fall in front of her face, too short to be pulled up into the clip.

"Ready?" she asks, making her voice brighter and lighter than she felt she had the right to. She wanted to sleep and wallow and rest with her eyes closed, but she couldn't let them worry. There wasn't anything for them to worry about. Sometimes she just got tired.

Jugo goes with her, agreeing with a simple nod. They find the kitchen and make themselves breakfast, working in tandem to build their own simple meals. Of course, Jugo's meal is twice the size of Sakura's. In the end, all she has is an elaborately decorated bowl of yogurt and fruit she's not sure she's going to finish.

That's how Yamato finds them, half eater pear still between his teeth. Sakura can see the smile that stretches even from behind the fruit. To his credit, Jugo doesn't tense or even frown like he would have in the past.

"I was wondering when sleeping beauty would wake up."

"Sleeping beauty, it's only 7:30! What are you talking about?" Sakura snaps, waving her spoon at his face.

He waved his pear before taking another bit and swallowing it. "Yeah, well some of us have been awake since five."

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Sakura dug her spoon into the yogurt and swirled. There were nuts and strawberry slices drowning in vanilla.

"Speaking of loss…" Yamato leaned against the counter they were sitting at and slid down so he was closer to her. He tilted his chin at her face. "What happened to you?"

Sakura lifted a spoonful and bit it hard before slipping it past her pressed lips. She narrowed her eyes and popped the spoon out. "You always this charming in the morning?"

"You should hear my pillow talk." He took another final bite out of his pear and then tossed it into the nearby trash can. "You look tired, that's all. Fun dreams?"

"Always." She swirled her yogurt "What else you here for, other than to make me feel super special? I mean, I've been awake for half an hour…forty five minutes, that must mean someone wants to see me."

"Its so unbelievable that I could be here because I like hanging out with you and want to keep an eye on you?"

He frowns over her head but by the time Sakura turns around to see what sort of face Jugo is making Jugo's expression has melted back into an easy smile. Yamato's voice makes her turn back.

"If you don't feel up to see anyone you don't need to. It's early."

"Jugo already told me Danzo was asking for me. I guess it's his turn to intimidate me."

"Not now. He's still busy intimidating the other elders. At least everyone is being nice to your face. Some of those old fatrts don't care who they piss off. Danzo's lucky some of those elders are older than dirt otherwise they're be blood by now. Genma's trying to keep the body count down."

Sakura took another spoonful of her breakfast and sipped at the tip of her spoon, too tired to care about looking like she is actually eating. Her side hurts almost more than she anticipated, like how the day after a workout hurts more than the actual workout. She hadn't anticipated her cracked ribs antagonizing her so much, but that was probably because she was in the mood to be antagonized.

It's with a pang that Sakura realizes something. Karin and Ino and Ami…her girl friends, people she was close with, people on the outside of the curse. I hadn't even been a long time since she last saw anyone, but it was just a roll of longing that took her by surprise.

When had there been a time when she was so cut off from them?

Yes, there had been times in the past when things were bad and Sakura just needed time to herself, time to mourn, time to hide, time to find what was left of her sanity. But her friends had always been close by, close enough to reach out to and touch. Karin said she would visit when she could and Ino said she would call, but Sakura hadn't received anything like that. Ami was still in a different country, but every so often they chatted.

When was the last time Sakura talked to someone from the outside?

Her stomach feels like it's a thousand miles deep and won't ever be full. She drops her spoon and pushes away from the table and hops down from her seat, not caring that Jugo is saying something about how she's barely touched her food.

"I'm going to make a phone call, grab me when you need me."

"Where are you going?" Yamato asks, jogging behind her even as Jugo leaves his seat to do the same. They're far away enough that she's an arm's reach away, but she felt like they were on her neck, breathing down it with impossible closeness.

"We were going to record more of the TeaLion Express account today," Jugo called out to her, stopping at the threshold to the kitchen. And then as an afterthought, "And the dreamer accounts, didn't you want to see those?"

"Later." She didn't care if her words were extra hard. She didn't care if she sounded angry or mean.

Sakura left the porch and cut through one of the rooms to the outside, pulling her phone out and ignoring Yamato who hung even further back. His expression was pained as she put even more distance between them.

'We're sorry, the number you have dialed is out of range, plea-'

Sakura cursed and hung up before trying Ino's number. She waited a moment, slipping in between some budding trees to hear the dial tone go dead and then beep.

'We're sorry, the number you have dialed is-' She didn't bother to listen to the rest of it. She died a dozen different numbers, Suigetsu's, her mother's, Karin's parents…all of them were out of range. That shouldn't have been possible. Her messages too, any time she tried sending something it would come back with a red exclamation point reading 'could not be delivered.'

Was this on purpose or an unhappy accident?

"Sakura?!" she heard Yamato calling for her and ran the opposite direction.

Her feet were bare and bleeding again. A thorn cut open the palm of her foot and she kept running. Dirt caught between her toes and she tripped into the soft soil, ankle turning. She fell onto her side and there was no air in her lungs to scream, but she had to get up, she had to get up, she had to get up.

 _Something was wrong_.

She didn't know where the though came from initially, it was something born out of her gut and fostered by logic and suspicion. No one was contacting her, she couldn't get out to anyone either. If she asked to leave what would they say? If they decided she couldn't shouldn't the trials…what would they do to stop it?

Her shirt was caught on something when she tried to stand and when she pulled it tugged her back down into the wet soil. She twisted out of it, she knew how to get away, she knew how to run, she knew she had to this time and if she didn't, if she didn't, if she didn't….

"Stop this!"

She hadn't heard his approach over the sound of panic and blood in her ears, but Sakura felt his hands on her wrist, pulling her away from the angry branches. She gasped, not enough oxygen in her brain, stars and floaters mixed with the tears and she felt so stupid for getting caught looking the way she did.

He was speaking in her ear and she had to turn her head to hear him, he was speaking into her bad ear.

"You're fine, you're safe, you're not back there. Focus on your breathing."

He didn't tell her to calm down at least.

Sakura felt her body shiver and then the shaking started. She felt so angry as her body refused to calm down. Her vision shifted and bubbled and she was crying but she was so angry at herself for crying. Why was she crying?

"You're having a panic attack, you're going to be fine. Remember to breath…deep breaths…deep breaths."

Sakura shook and then rocked and then stilled. The soil was damp because they were near a brook, thin and snaking underground at parts. When had she come so far?

Yamato held her and when she stilled he pulled her tighter against his body. She was a mess of dirt, bloody feet, and fear, but he still held on to her.

"You're safe," he said.

"Where…?" Sakura swallowed and it was painful. Her side still ached and she could taste her swallowed tears in her throat, clumping in a bitter knot of salt. "Why can't I call anyone? What are you doing to me here?"

"You're safe, focus on that first. You're safe here, Sakura." When she didn't react any more it was Yamato's turn to take a breath. "You're safe, but they're blocking all communication on the mountain until the elders leave. It's not just for you. We didn't mean to scare you. If you want to call your friends Danzo can let you use his satellite phone."

"There is always going to be an elder around me, isn't there?" Sakura asked, voice horse. Had she been screaming.

"We're trying to protect you."

"Someone wants to kill me, don't tell me I'm being paranoid; I feel it in my gut. I know what it feels like when someone wants to kill me and I can't explain it but I know something is wrong here." She was so proud of her voice for not shaking.

"That might have something to do with the mark on your chest there."

Both Yamato and Sakura turned to the new voice, hidden behind the outline of a gnarled apple tree. Genma was there, standing just beyond the tree, but in front of him, where she would have never noticed him, Danzo stood watching her.

' _Something is wrong_.'

* * *

AN:/ I'm super lazy and did little writing this week, but at least this chapter got finished. Aside from this week I know there will be an update next week, and am hoping that I can get the chapter after that finished in time too. I think I can. This chapter was pretty long, and I'm going to cut back on the length a little bit to keep it from being overwhelming for the next chapter. No big reveal in this one, but next week for sure you'll see a smug new face. :D

(Also Pokemon is so to blame for my 'absence' from the writing world because that game is going to end up killing me one day. I caught a bunch in just the first week of having the app!)

I also have a A03 account where I'll begin to start uploading stuff (I'm super lazy) that usually shows up on my tumblr... my A03 handle is Vesperchan and of course my tumblr id is vesperlionheart in case you wanted to know.

Please remember to _**review**_ , because really, that's what sustains me.


	11. Chapter 11

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

"Cut a chrysalis open, and you will find a rotting caterpillar.  
What you will never find is that mythical creature, half caterpillar, half butterfly, a fit emblem for the human soul, for those whose cast of mind leads them to seek such emblems.  
No, the process of transformation consists almost entirely of decay."

Pat Barker, _Regeneration_

* * *

 _Both Yamato and Sakura turned to the new voice, hidden behind the outline of a gnarled apple tree. Genma was there, standing just beyond the tree, but in front of him, where she would have never noticed him, Danzo stood watching her._

Sakura realized her shirt had been ripped and was still pulled up over her chest, exposing her in her sports bra and bruises. Somehow that didn't seem as important as it had before. Not even the mess of her face and hair seemed worth thinking about.

"What's that supposed to mean. I already told you I killed a crawling god. Remember my grand exit?" Sakura remarks curtly, pulling away from Yamato and dragging the palm of her hand across her eyes.

Danzo steps out from under the trees but it's as if the shadows follow him. He walks with a cane but Sakura feels somewhere low in her spine that his cane isn't just for support. He hums, nodding his head towards her. "Yes, but seeing and believing are not the same thing. I didn't believe it myself until just now, but you did slay the crawling chaos."

From behind him Sakura notes the look of disgust on Genma's face and huffs, reaching up to pull her ripped shirt down over the mark and the bruises. She swallows again, hating how she can still taste her _stupidstupidstupid_ tears. She wasn't so weak.

Her reply is dry. "I take it that's a big deal."

"Of course. Anything in the Kingdom of Gods is a big deal. You're injured."

"It was a spar, nothing major."

Danzo drew closer. "With who?"

If she had been a cat her hackles would have all been up. Yamato's hand on her shoulder calms her only somewhat. Danzo notes this and shifts his position, turning to lean more heavily on his cane. It's an act, meant to make her feel better and put her at ease.

It doesn't.

And by the curl of his lips, Danzo recognizes her observation. As old and weathered as he is, Sakura can still see the lines of his face shift in a look of sly cunning. He may be aged, but there was no way he was anything less than calculating. "We're not here to hurt you, but put at ease for that." He tapped the ground with his can before stepping forward and stoping in front of her. "If anything the aim and mission of ROOT is to protect the dreamer above all else. Doubt who you like, but the very meaning of my existence has been to survive to see this day."

"And what day is that?" Sakura thinks she knows what he is going to say, but wants to hear it from him.

"The age of a dreamer, not one nominated by election, but one chosen by the Obelisk, one astute enough to manipulate the very matter of the dream without limitation, and one loved by the Obelisk above all others. You've not done much reading, but if you had you would know, some dreamers were not loved by Obelisk or actors at all."

Absently, Sakura wondered how he knew all that about her, if he had read her account from Jugo- incomplete as it was. Sakura shifts her shoulders up. "I have a natural advantage, so did so many others. Sai said the dream loved Naruto, but Naruto didn't win."

"Naruto was an untalented street punk who didn't know how to do anything with any talent. He was loved, but he was not skilled, and in the end, that's how he died." He tilted his head to the side. "Madara was also loved, not as well, but he was skilled."

"So?" Sakura rose to her feet, the pain in her ribs making her falter. Still, she stood on her own and stared Danzo down. "Madara didn't even win, he wasn't the one actor who reached the end of the Kingdom of Gods. What does that have to do with anything?"

"It should matter to you because it means ROOT believes in you. I'd like to say we would have believed in you no matter who you were, but there was a reason our families abandoned the trials so many years ago. We were tired of seeing nothing but failures." When he walks it's more than a walk, it's a movement that's more hover and loom that walk and stand. He's as solid as a tombstone, and just as forbearing. "You're not a failure."

"Why is it that sounds like anything but a good thing when you say it?" Sakura bites out, moving away from Yamato when he reaches for her. Danzo glares at the younger man and Sakura can feel the way her friend shrinks back, dutiful and obedient more than fearful. She is not something so easily touched.

"You don't trust us and you are right not to. No one here should be trusted, least of all myself. You know what ROOT was established for, centuries ago?" He gives her a moment to guess, but when she just raises her eyebrow he goes on. "In Root, you have no name. You have no feelings. You have no past. You have no future. There is only the mission. You are the unseen ones who support the great tree of life from the depths of the earth. Now, tell me what you think that sounds like?"

"Sounds like an assassins manifesto. ROOT was supposed to be the organization that protected the dreamer."

"Sometimes. At least that is what we told ourselves, how we justified out actions when the world ran out of dreamers. But when there was a dreamer we were that man's sword and shield." He paused as if recognizing his mistake. "Or woman's." He seemed to smile at something before adding. "ROOT is not worth your trust, and no one worth our support would have trusted us so easily. You're a war hero still stuck in her war. You're wise to be weary, especially out here in the open."

With a nod Genma stand out from behind Danzo and moves back up the path before pausing to offer Sakura an easy smile. "We should be heading back. You can get cleaned up there and someone will see to your feet." He angled his head. "I'll go ahead."

Sakura tasted something in her mouth and swallowed. "What were you doing out here when you found me? That was too fast for Yamato to have warned you." Her gut echoed with the same warning as before. ' _Something is not right._ ' Maybe it wasn't warning her about Danzo. Maybe there was something else she should be weary of. There were more than four elders, and plenty of underlings who could have their own opinions as well.

Danzo inclined his head and stooped again, using his can to guide him up the soiled path between trees. He walked enough to pass her, but paused before he could move too far away from her. "Log takes such good care of his trees here. There is always someone out here tending to them, so it wouldn't seem out of place to spot a boy in overalls somewhere along the way." He hummed taking another step to reach out and grab a leaf between his fingers. "These things are always in need of trimming, I hear." The leaf fluttered free of his fingers and he continued on. It was only when he heard Sakura draw up beside him that he actually chuckled and added in a lowered voice, "Your smell for danger is cunningly astute."

They went back to the manor and Yamato helped Sakura clean her feet and bandage the cuts she couldn't feel anymore. Genma waited at the door, keeping an eye peeled. It was minutes later when he begrudgingly let Jugo in with a muffin for Sakura to eat. Sakura didn't miss how he seemed to glare at everyone and everything until she took the first bite.

Absently, she noted that Jugo had come in with more than just food for her.

"Are those the accounts I was looking for yesterday?" she asked, licking the crumbs of cinnamon off her fingers. Yamato was watching her drag her thumb over her teeth, likely waiting for her to fall apart again. She refused to shrink from his gaze.

"Ugh, some of them. I have Temari and Kankuro, who were siblings in real life. They were right next to each other. Temari was the first and she lasted a year and two months in the dream world. Her brother lasted eleven months."

"Gaara is by far the most important actor I've run across." The stare of Danzo on her back was heavy, but she refused to turn around and face it. "He's one of two Pharaohs and one of two actors that's killed a wild god. I'll need to know more about him if I want him to help me."

"Why not just kill him and take his tattoo?" Genma asked, nursing a drink she suspected of being alcoholic.

"I don't think I could beat him unless I had to, and I'd really not want to. He's nice enough. I get the feeling that he's a bit of a wounded spirit." Sakura grabbed a napkin to rub between her fingers, shedding crumbs before adding, "He's awkward."

"And dangerous. I'm guessing he's the one who gave you that little love tap on the side." Genma's smile was a cross between sly and tired. There were faded bags under his eyes when he adds, "If your ribs are cracked someone should look at those."

Sakura glared when she felt Jugo's senses sharped on her. :It'll be gone by tomorrow. I didn't have enough time before I woke up to finish healing it."

"Oh, so it was worse before you started healing it?" Genma teases.

"You know, it may just be the lighting, but your face looks an awful lot like a target for me to throw my food at. You wanna hold still while I do that?"

Genma just laughs at her while Yamato sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Enough," Yamato growls. "Stop being such an exhausted dick in the morning in front of Sakura."

"Genma," Danzo's voice was stone. "Take a break. There's a bed in the next room. Go. Yamato will stay."

Genma looked irritated for a flash of a second, but complied with the same dedicated obedience as Yamato. A good little solider marching off to do his duty.

"What was he talking about," Jugo asked, looking to Sakura.

She grimaced and tapped her side, but didn't roll up her shirt to show it off. "I busted my side in a spar. Gaara is an ally though, he's not someone I want to turn against or fight…not just because I think he's stronger than me." She rolled her trash between her palms. "But I don't want to turn away allies and I like the kid. He seems broken."

"That's an apt observation." Danzo's voice made her turn and look over her shoulder to where the olden man crouched in front of an alter. "There's a reason you couldn't find Gaara's account. I doubt you're old enough to qualify for access to those documents little Jugo."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jugo snapped, riled up the way Danzo wanted him to be.

Danzo lit something and set the smoking stick into a dish of ash. Sakura swallowed, recognizing the ritual. "Your young and that account is only allowed to the patriarch chronologer."

"Why?" Sakura turns around fully to face Danzo and watch him through the end of his ritual.

Jugo faces Danzo as well, beside Sakura. "If I ask for it, my grandfather should be able to help me find it. There aren't any restricted accounts to me…I'm his apprentice."

"Then ask for it, boy."

When Jugo didn't say anything Danzo chuckles and went back to the alter. It was minutes later when he turns back to them. Sakura is all hard edges, razor blade eyes and bullet straight jaws holding back the world. Danzo sees that, recognizes that, and smiles.

"Make that boy your ally, girl. There's a reason his account is sealed and forgotten about. He's the only one who made it all the way to the end of the worlds, won the favor of all the god holders and he should have won the Obelisk, there was nothing left to stop him."

She felt her whole body widen in surprise: eyes, lungs, mind. "Gaara's the one that got to the end of the Obelisk."

Danzo nods, shutting the doors to the alter with a soft click that could have been a cannon shot. "And he'll be the one that helps you get to the end this time. Of all your allies, he's the one you want to keep."

* * *

Sakura woke up in the dream world and healed herself, but did little of anything else. Sai told her Gaara was busy with audiences, people of his kingdom that need to share their grievances. At one point Sai asked her if she wanted to see Gaara, that if she said the word he would send away his audience for her. Sakura didn't say anything, but went back to healing her ribs. It was taking forever.

She almost spent the whole dream on her own, healing and listening to her own thoughts with Sai flickering in and out of her room. When he comes back at dusk he tells her that there's only a couple of families left in line. Her ribs are whole and unbruised when she rises from the balcony bench and strides down the hall.

She hears Gaara's booming voice and then something like a whip's crack. Someone else shouts out into the hall and the last couple strides forward. At the foot of Gaara's throne his sister the High Priestess stands tall, the golden ankh in her hands.

"Hey!" Sakura turns and see the figure behind her. She's on the balcony looking down at the hall where people come and go, higher and out of the way, hidden behind tapestries of royal blue.

Kakuro's smile is wide and then it's faltering and a look of fear comes into his eyes. Sakura doesn't understand until he falls down onto his knees and pushes his face into the floor. His body trembles to remember who she is and what she has done.

"No!" Sakura's voice is quick as she bends down to his level and grabs his shoulders to pull him up. He's limp for how willing he is to let her have her way. She forces his face up and his eyes are growing large for her. "I don't want that. Don't treat me like a god."

"You're a god killer, you slew the Crawling Chaos." His words are an explanation, but she doesn't accept it.

"I'm not going to have you bowing or praying to me. I'll still bleed if you cut me. Get up, off the floor, and don't ever do that in front of me again." Sakura huffs, raising him up when he tries to bow to her again. "Cut it out. Stop that now."

"Apologies, apologies. I do not know my place." He swallows, stepping away from her. "I apologies for how I treated you in my ignorance. I apologize for my-"

"I told you to stop that, I think." Sakura pushes him away and takes a step back to lean against a pillar between two blue drapes. "I liked it when you treated me like a human, before you knew." She held up her empty hands and slid down the wall. " I'm not your brother. I'm not that different from you."

"I…I-I…" Kankuro turned his face away and stood up, eyes cast down. It was with growing dread that Sakura realized Kakuro wouldn't see her the same way anymore.

"Is Gaara almost finished?" Sakura stood back up, feeling like all the elders were staring at her again. The days when she could pretend she was normal and slip away were over, even in the dream.

Kankuro is a babbling mess as he stands and begins to lead her down the stairs. "Y-yes. He'll want to see you. He was ask-he was asking after you earlier but the Sigh of Dejection said you were resting and that wasn't great news-but Gaara took it well! He took it well and didn't get angry or anything so that's good."

"Does he usually get angry?" Sakura asked, following him down.

"N-no, no, not really, that's not what I would say at-"

"He's famous for his tempers," Sai smoothly adds, sliding up alongside Sakura. Gaara's brother falters on the stairs and makes a pained sound before turning to see the new member. His eyes are still so wide, even with all the makeup. Sai just smiles wider. "But as you could see, no one talks about that."

"You're not scared of most things, are you?" Sakura asked with a sigh of relief. Sai is fresh air in a crowded room. He doesn't treat her differently.

"Not anymore. But if we're going to be singing my praises, you should also hear about what I dug up on that brat prince."

"The Pharaoh of lower Egypt?" Sakura only barely remembered the name and title.

"Yeah, that's the one. He's going to come here tomorrow and try to woo you. He knows he doesn't have much to offer, but I have to admit he is pretty to look at if you like guys. You're not into the dark and handsome type though." Sai's eyes are extra shifty and Sakura feels her gut drop. "No, if I remember correctly…"

" _Sai_." Sakura's voice is a warning growl.

"No, if I remember correctly you were always more interested in the baby faced redhead trouble make-"

Sakura reached out and smacked her friend upside the head hard enough to cause him to stagger. Sai tumbles down a couple of steps before righting himself with a laugh. As mischievous as a fox he ducks out of her next swipe and turns into a ghost of smoke.

Left alone in the stairwell, Sakura whirls on Kankuro. "You didn't hear that just now. Don't repeat it."

"O-of course."

Sakura groans, feeling like she's already failed at keeping the secret. There's no way she could keep Sai from slipping up again. "Maybe I should go back. Gaara's probably busy."

"No! He'll see you. He was looking forward to seeing you. Don't go back." He reaches out to touch her but draws back at the last second and settles for hand gestures.

Sighing, Sakura follows him down into the audience hall just as the last couple departs. Sai is already leaning against the back of Gaara's chair. He grins when Sakura sees him. Sai reaches out and taps Gaara on the shoulder, and the Pharaoh turns, scowl in place before seeing his brother and Sakura.

He stands suddenly as the rest of the hall falls on their face. Sakura groans, rolling her eyes. Gaara is quick to notice and waves his hand. "Enough. Leave us."

Plenty of figures back away and Sakura doesn't miss the way Kakuro give his brother a thumbs up before disappearing behind a curtain. Sai stars to leave but Gaara stops him. Once they were alone Gaara waved them to a connected room that was more of a balcony choked with pillows around a low table.

Once in the room Gaara fingers his crown and peels it from his head before depositing it into a pit on a table meant for headdresses. He kneels down among the pillows first and then gestures to both his friends. Sakura follows Sai to the floor and tucks her ankles under her legs, leaning on the pillows like a couch.

The table is already set with food and Gaara reaches for a handful of dates. "Sai, you told me you had news about the brat." He pops a date and then glares. "Tell me it is good news and he finally married a crocodile and died."

"Not so interesting, I'm afraid," Sai sighs, reaching for a date himself. There are dehydrated apricots he picks up and tosses to Sakura. "He's actually coming here for that reason."

"He's going to marry one of my crocodiles?"

"No, but maybe something just as dangerous."

Gaara's eyes fix on Sakura and the date in his hand pops, juices running over his knuckles. "Over my dead body. I'll deny him at the gates."

"You can't, those are the laws." Sai tosses Gaara a cloth to wipe his hands with. "You'll have to accept him into your court and entertain him, but nothing more."

"Why is this a problem?" Sakura asked, chewing on her dried fruit. "He can't do anything."

Gaara grunts, looking away. "He's a snake. We call his the desert asp behind his back, and that's one of the kinder names. He'll try to deceive you."

"Into doing what, marrying him?" She snorts. "I don't think I'm in any danger of that."

"You haven't met him yet," Gaara says in a softer voice, less harsh as his eyes drift to the table. He reaches for a pitcher and nods to the empty cups on the table. "Wine?"

Sakura shakes her head but Sai takes a fill. "I agree with Sakura. I don't think anything will come of the boy's visit. What is worth our time is actually the matter of the last wild god. You haven't changed your stance on your unwillingness to commit yourself to our cause, have you?"

"The Key and the Gate is a god not easily found. You may be able to defeat it if you find it, but your time is best spent elsewhere. There is no rush. It's not going anywhere."

"That may be true here," Sakura begins, feeling Sai turn towards her as she refuses to look at either of them. "But things are not so tranquil in the waking world."

"What happened?" Sai asked. It's so rare he doesn't know something, the tone of his voice is hard to recognize.

"There is a faction, I'm not sure how large, that does not want to see me advance any further in the Obelisk trials. I'm being watched by people I trust, but I'm not safe there."

"You think you are in immediate danger?" Sai presses.

Sakura grits her teeth again and remembers how to be strong. "I'll be fine, but I'm safer in this world where I can at least heal myself and fight back. Sai, what would happen to me in the dream if I died in the real world? I'd die here too, right?"

"Yes, that's how it's been for several actors who were dreamers in the past."

Sakura huffs and then slouches in her seat, slipping further down. Sai passes her his cup of wine and she takes it without looking and drains it. "You'll be fine if we stick to our timetable. Those boys like you enough to risk their lives."

"They're like soldiers around Danzo," Sakura murmured. She closed her eyes and turned over on her side, sliding further down. "I know I'll be fine. I'll be fine." She closed her eyes and felt Sai pat her head. "I'm not a dog."

"You're tired."

"I sleep enough."

His hand doesn't leave her head, but pets her hair down anyway. "Not with your body. You mind has nowhere to rest. You should rest here. We can talk of other things. Rest for now."

Sakura tries to bat his hand away, but doesn't rise again, body heavy on the pillows. "I've been tired for two years. I don't want to stop now."

"You should listen to your friend and take rest when you can," Gaara says. Sakura lifts her head enough to see him over Sai, but his face is as soft as his voice.

There's a shawl pulled up from the cushions and Sakura doesn't fight when Sai drapes it over her. "Don't talk. Just rest here until the dream ends."

His hand stays close to hers and she grabs it before he can pull it away. Sai, her best friend. She holds his hand and closes her eyes but doesn't sleep. It's enough just to rest. Her ribs no longer hurt and she feels whole for now. How long until that ends? She doesn't want to think about that. She doesn't want to think about Karin or Ino being beyond her reach. She doesn't want to think of the feeling Danzo praised her for, the feeling in her gut that told her she was in danger. She didn't want to think that she was in danger.

She's so heavy, she knows she's not asleep, but Sakura doubts she could sit up and speak if she wanted to. Gaara's voice is far off, but she still hears it.

"You love her, don't you?" That had been Gaara to ask such a question of Sai.

"I don't think that's right, at least not how you think. Yes, I love her. She is a person I treasure and a person I would give my life up for. I put her before myself, but I don't desire her. I don't have feelings like those existing within me; I never have and I never will be such a creature." She feels his hand on hers grow warm. "What do you think of my favorite dreamer?"

"I thought your favorite was Naruto."

"I did enjoy him and found his heart pure…but Sakura has won over too much of me to be anything less than king in my heart. I'll protect her however I can. But, you haven't answered my question from before."

"I'm not sure I can. You've had years together. It's only been three days for me."

"You have a direction. Will you support her?"

"I don't think I will oppose her in anything."

"You need to like her to help her though. Do you?"

Sakura didn't hear the rest, she was snapped back to reality and woke on a cot across the room from Genma who was awake and grinning, bags under his eyes heavy and dark.

* * *

Sakura read and finished her account with Jugo of the TeaLion Express. He asked her about the Kingdom of Monsters and Sakura got out of it by claiming to be tired. She rested with Temari and Kankuro's stories. Included in her stack were the accounts of various Uchiha, Naruto, Kakashi, and other members of the Akatsuki.

* * *

When she dreamed she woke on the same cushions but Sai was no longer holding her hand.

"Guess what you have to look forward to today?" Sai hummed from the window.

Sakura groaned. "Please tell me there isn't a parade out there and it's my head playing tricks on me. Tell me I don't hear elephants." The loud call echoed outside followed by horns and Sakura groaned, sinking into her pillows. "Can't I just fight another god? This is going to be torture."

She feels Sai behind her, running hands through her hair trying to coax her out. "It won't be so bad, and you need more time to recuperate. At least with this development you just need to sit in a seat and look pretty while the spoiled prince entertains."

"That's not the kind of rest I need," Sakura groused, lifting her face from the pillows to see a pair of maids enter the room with boxes in their hands. She raised a single brow. "Dress up, really?"

"Come on, stop whining. The sooner you get up the sooner this will be over."

Reluctantly, Sakura pulled herself up and limped over to the vanity where the two young girls pulled apart her dress from last night and sewed her into something light and fluttering. Her mid drift and the tattoo below her chest were left exposed while the rest of her skirt flowed. One of the maids pulled all her hair back and sleeked it with oil before coiling it up inside a black wig that cut down to her jaw. Sakura felt her face painted with heavy black paint and didn't resist when they smeared gold flecks into her cheeks. The last thing they insisted on was a veil of beads looping from one ear to the other, covering the bottom half of her face.

"We thought it best if the brat prince wasn't able to recognize you so easily. If he insists on staying we'll need to sneak out at some point to find the last wild god."

Sakura froze in front of the bronze mirror. "How long is he planning on staying?"

"Sometimes these things last months. It's also much cooler this close to the norther tip. Many souther Egyptians will migrate here for the summer. Their Pharaoh can run his government from anywhere."

Sakura's fingers twitched at her side. "I'd really rather kill something."

Sai stopped at the door and held out his hand for her to take. "If it makes you feel any better, he'll probably try to kill you while you're here and take your tattoo for himself."

She rolled her eyes, following him out. "Yeah, that makes me feel tons better."

The day before Gaara's hall had been sparsely populated with humble men and women, eyes downcast and backs bent in humility. Today it was the complete opposite. In place of revert citizens the hall was filled with dancers, brightly colored men and women supporting dishes piled with food and tribute. Elephants, half a dozen of them, crowded in the center of the room, each carrying a dignitary. Sakura looked to the back of the procession and saw gold cages with cheetah and lion. A monkey was even tied to a golden leash and led along.

"One of those things is going to crap on the carpet," Sakura grumbled, making Sai chuckle.

"You have to admit, they're flashy."

"So is a solar flare, doesn't mean it's a good thing."

Sai hummed, brows creased in concentration. "A solar flare is a lick of flame that separates from a star, correct?"

"Yeah, they're full of radiation and that's not good for us. Radiation from a solar flare is mostly filtered out by our magnetosphere and our atmosphere, so we're safe on earth. But radiation can cause mutations, sickness, infertility, and a whole bunch of fun stuff. Do you remember that from my high school science?"

Sai nodded, his tone respectful. "What you've read is what I know. Anything written that you've come across is available to me. I'll admit I've gleamed most of your knowledge, but I'm not as proficient as I would like to be. Some things I do not understand."

"Ask me and I'll try my best to help you out. You've done a lot to support me, it's only fair."

Sai shook his head, looking down. "It's not important now." His soft smile faded. "There are other things we should be worried about."

"Is one of them Gaara?" When Sai shook his head Sakura felt a little bit better. "Then is it this brat coming up like he's the Queen of Sheba?"

Sai's smile came back. "He is one of my least favorite dreamers, but there is a reason he rivals Gaara without a god. He is strong and not to be taken may not find him pleasant, but know he is not as weak as he is conceited or unsavory."

"You make him sound like a creep." Sakura pictured a leacerous old man with wiggling fingers wiggling for the skin of soft, young girls. It brought bad memories of Lolita book discussions in highschool.

"Not a creep, but you will have your own opinion of him soon enough."

Sai tugged on her arm, keeping her back in the shadows as the procession stopped and settled down, making a path among the animals and dancers for a gold bed, carried by four burly men in slave collars. Sakura frowned at the slave collars and felt something turn the marrow of her bones to fire.

The bed was curtained and inside the figure of a man lounging could be made out. Sakura suspected he was having a easier time seeing out than others had of seeing in. From the shadows Sakura knew they wouldn't be spotted. She eyed Gaara on his throne, looking bored and agitated at the same time. Behind him stood his siblings and a handful of guards lined the steps up to his throne.

The bed stopped at the foot of the steps and tilted downwards. Sakura watched as the man shifted the curtains aside and stepped out of his litter onto the stairs and began to ascent. Temari bowed her head first, but the rest of the room feel to a knee. Gaara stood.

Still in the shadows, Sakura made no move as the new actor strode forward to stop in front of Gaara. They were behind a pillar and she couldn't see his face clearly, but Sai stepped aside to let her take his spot with a better view. When she was able to see around the pillar she almost gasped at the boy's face.

"Is that Itachi?"

Sai huffed. "In the waking world they were brothers, Sasuke Uchiha is the younger brother of Itachi Uchiha, which is why they look alike. Sasuke was the last dreamer of the Uchiha clan before the Obelisk left their possession."

"He's younger than I expected him to be, he's probably the same age as Gaara."

"They were teenagers when they began the trials."

Sakura remembered barely managing to straighten her hair when she was sixteen. What were adults thinking putting children into such an environment?

Sai seemed to sense her question. "Children were better at manipulating the dream world. They had more belief for it I think."

"Still, you said this kid was strong. He didn't become strong without struggle." The more Sakura thought about it the angrier she got. "I understand a little better why people were against the trials."

Sai didn't say anything, choosing to remain silent as Gaara nodded to the new Pharaoh. Gaara's red hair was covered and tucked up under a white egg shaped crown while the visiting Pharaoh wore a red crown that looked more like a L shaped box. His hair was also pulled up under the red crown, but Sakura could see strands of black that gleamed like silk on the back of his neck.

"Pharaoh Sasuke," Gaara greeted.

"Pharaoh Gaara," Sasuke responded, answering with a nod of his own. "Thank you for extending your hospitality. I have brought tribute for the new godkiller."

Gaar's tone is as dead as his gaze. "I see your display of lavish goods. You've heard about our guest."

"I was disappointed you did not inform me yourself. I went off rumor and whispers."

"I'm sure you did."

"Hn." Sasuke turns his head to the side and narrows his glare at Temari before sweeping the whole of the room. "Where is she."

"She goes where she pleases and is summoned for no one."

Sasuke's dark eyes landed on Gaara's and electricity crackled. "Does she even know she is desired? I'd hate for her to think she doesn't have…." Sasuke's eyes drop down Gaara's figure before rising up, measuring the redhead and finding him lacking. "…options."

"We will not stand for cohesion in our courts."

"That's good to know. Cold blooded killers with no feelings know how to do little else, I've been told." Sasuke looked off to his side. "Shino, to me."

An attendant dressed in brilliant robs of blue and green knelt down behind Sasuke. Sakura recognized the boy from a kingdom long ago. "Kankuro will show you where the attendants may take the godkiller's things. Have them put up in her rooms as soon as possible. The animals will be taken care of by Asuma and his wife."

Gaara grunted but nodded to Kankuro. "Should I have an attendant show you to your own rooms?" Gaara asked Sasuke. "You must be tired from such a long trip."

Sasuke snorted. "Hardly. I'll stay for your evening entertainment if you have any. If not, my own performers will suffice. I'm sure we could coax the lovely godkiller with a godlike dance."

"Let your dancers rest. The court magicians will be entertainment enough for tonight."

"Hn," Sasuke said, dismissing his servants and summoning his attendants to his side.

Sakura and Sai watched from the shadows as the group moved behind the curtians that hung like a wall behind Gaara's throne. On the other side the stairs led down to another lower level where magicians in white robes were already gathering. The room was spotted with platforms along the walls, cut into the stairs for nobles and priests of varying stature to lounge. Gaara and Sasuke took seats at the largest platform, adorned with the richest pillows and thickest tapestries. A low table sat before them, decorated with food and wine.

"Would you like to meet the brat prince and learn how he earned his name?" Sai asked, whispering in Sakura's ear.

"Not really, but I think I want this dream to advance. This is a good thing right?"

Sai shrugged. "If you went back to hide in you room nothing would change. Is that what you want?"

Sakura didn't know what she wanted, she only knew what she should do. She knew what her mission was. She had a goal, but that was different from wanting. What she wanted was escape from the trials and a sleep that might never end, a real sleep, not one of her nightmare dreams.

Sakura waved a shawl to drape over her front and cover her tattoo. "Let's go take one of the smaller platforms and watch for a while. I want to get a better feel for this Sasuke character before I say or do anything else."

That had been Sakura's original plan, but one magic act turned into two. The Sasuke demanded his dancers come out for real entertainment, never noticing the presence of the god killer three steps below him on a platform to his right. Sometimes Sai would lean over and tell Sakura what they were saying.

Sakura learned a lot this way.

Sasuke's dancers danced well and before Sakura knew it the dream began to thin around her. She would be waking soon and she hadn't revealed herself to Sasuke or Gaara. That hadn't been what she planned on doing, but the whispers Sai fed her were good enough to justify her hesitation.

Sakura began to feel tired, the way she would right before waking, and fell against Sai. He caught her and held her tight as the dancers bled into white.

* * *

The next time Sakura dreamed she was back in place, same wig, same dress, same shawl in place to hide her tattoo. Animals were brought in and different events were held.

Sakura didn't reveal herself this time either.

The third night Sakura began to wonder if she would ever show herself to Sasuke. She also began to wonder why she couldn't drag her body up the stairs to their platform. Was it just because she wanted a break? Was it because she was scared? What was it that kept her from advancing the story.

"I know she's here, you can't trick me into thinking she's run away," Sasuke groused, loud enough for Sakura to hear with Sai's help. Sai had a sort of magic in manipulating shadows to carry vibrations to her ears.

"I do no such thing," Gaara stated, tone cold.

"Hn. You're wasting your efforts. Shinio is looking for her. His Beatles know her scent. They'll sniff out where you've hidden her in this castle."

"I Have not hidden her."

"Of course not. You think she would be so opposed to my presence? You think she'd take a virgin like you over someone such as myself?" Sasuke taunted. Sakura felt her lips thin.

"You are arrogant as ever, brat prince."

Sasuke snarled. "I earned my throne, same as you. I might not have killed a god, but I've killed a curse and I'll kill again when I need to. Don't look down on me."

"You demand what I can not give you. Godkillers are, as you know, winners of their thrones. She is as exalted as one such as myself. Do not think her petty enough for your tainted charms."

"I'm not worried." Sasuke huffed a breath, looking out at the performers. "If you're the competition, it's not even worth getting worked up for. When was the last time a woman looked at you and didn't flinch. I wasn't born with a demon meant to swallow gods."

"No, you were born with a stick up your ass."

Sakura nearly choked when she heard Gaara's rebuttal. Even Sai was smirking. "I'm proud of him," Sakura whispered. Gaara had issues with socializing and communicating with others. What little Sakura read of his file in the dream world told her this.

Sai nodded. "He is not one I worry about anymore."

"Who is?"

"Who else would take on a god by herself instead of running away to come back another day when she was better prepared?"

"I wasn't going to leave you!"

"I know that. Why do you think I worry." Sakura was a bit off put by his banter and pouted. Sai's returning grin was new. "Don't do that. They're staring and if they see your face they won't be able to look away."

"Because I'm gorgeous." Sakura grinned teasingly.

"Because you're a foreigner." Her face fell. "Ah, too late, Sasuke has already leaned over to ask Gaara about you. Good going. You want to eavesdrop some more or wallow in self pity?"

"You're not nice," Sakura grumbled, scooting closer to her friend to hear the conversation she shouldn't have been able to hear apart from Sai's magic.

"She's sitting with the Eye's High Priest, who is she?" Sasuke asked, sounding indigent.

Gaara's tone is bored, but he addresses Sasuke with respect. "She is his company. You know the Priest to the great Eye keeps to his lot in odd ways. He has not been seen in years."

"Yet he is in your courts. Why was I not told?"

"He arrived right after you."

Sasuke's growl was guttural. "I saw him here two nights ago but did not know it was him until now. Do not lie to me."

Gaara sighed. "He must have snuck in with your people. I've not introduced him because he has not moved to introduce himself. Would you like to risk the anger of the great Eye that sees all? I'm sure your eager to please him for what he knows."

Sasuke said nothing, prompting Sakura to pinch Sai's arm and glare at him. He looked up to see her whisper 'what the hell' with a look that demanded he tell her everything.

Sai frowns at the part of his body Sakura pinched. "It's my alias for this world, only Gaara and you are supposed to know anything. What did you think they would say of me?"

"What's the great eye they're talking about?"

Sai touched the center of her forehead as if that meant something. "It's the god they fear above all others here. No matter how little they know, the great eye is a fixture of this corner of the dream world all actors and citizens of this land know to fear. The Eye is the dream, and I am it's great High Priest. Only Gaara knows I am the Sigh of Dejection, but everyone else knows that I am the knower of secret ways."

"Secret ways…meaning the way to the last wild god that's left to be killed?" Sakura guessed. In the background she heard Sasuke complain to Gaara about something else, claiming the whole situation was unfair and that his performers wern't being appreciated or something along those lines.

"Who said you weren't smart? The brat prince has never slain a god and is not yet Gaara's equal for this. He has bastardized a imitation of a god seal on his neck for power, making him formidable, but he is not on the same stage as you or Gaara. He would need my favor to find the last god in the Valley of the End of Kings." He watched her digest the information and tapped her forehead again, smiling when she frowned. "Well, praise me, I'm important."

Sakura opened her mouth to call Sai an idiot when another figure in the far off made her pause.

Baki's presence never meant anything good.

Sakura almost stood, fear falling down her spine like ice water. Sai called to her questioningly as she sat up on her knees and looked out across the room to the corner in the darkness. The dream was far from being over, and Sakura had a feeling she had slept through too many peaceful nights. Sai called her name again but she didn't listen.

Above her on the platform Sasuke stood to clap as his performers fall into line for a final act. The rest of the room applauded and Sakura wanted to scream about how wrong everything felt. Sai at least tensed beside her, aware of her discomfort.

"What an excellent performance, I look forward to how that shall be topped by our esteemed hosts. But let me dare one final performance of the night."

Sasuke's eyes turned towards Sai and Sakura, she felt them land on her and take her in. His gaze roved over her and then flicker to Sai. Sakura moved in front of her friend, hiking her shoulders. Sasuke's grin widened and turned saucy as he winked before turning away to address the rest of the room. Gaara glowered behind him.

"For our next act the highly exalted Pharaoh of Upper Egypt will be the main attraction as he tests his own blood sand against that of iron and age."

A rippled of fear and cheering went through the room as Gaara tensed behind Sasuke, summoning glittering sand up around him to settle on his skin like armor. His gaze was murder and Sakura was thankful his eyes weren't narrowed for her. He hissed to Sasuke, demanding an explanation for such foolishness. Temari and Kankuro were close and both looked frightened.

"Oh, had I forgotten to introduce my performers to you? I had assumed you already knew. Step forward then," Sasuke boomed, turning to the contraption between the actors that had been where they storied all their dancing ribbons and play swords. "King of the Thieves!"

Absolute chaos bloomed around them as men and women rose from their seats in fear. Some began to run, others let loose their weapons, having kept them hidden for such a time. Blood ran freely all around them as the slaughter began, but Sakura's eyes were to the center of the room where the box began to transform and a figure like a scorpion came together. It was a contraction held together with black markings and painted spells. The contraption opened its mouth and purple fog seeped free, halting the assault of Gaara's guards. Out of the purple mist a new figure rose, dressed in black and piercing eyes.

"Oh," Sai remarked dryly, feeling safe behind Sakura. "That's Gaara's predecessor, the man who should have been Upper Egypt's next Pharaoh, They call him the Third Kazekage." Sai's hands rested on Sakura's shoulders, guiding them so that he could be safe behind them. "What do you think, he look cute?"

Sakura glared. "You're teasing me because he looks like Sasori," she hissed.

"Maybe." He started to back away from her towards the back wall. "Time to pick a side, they're coming for you."

Sakura waved him off, reaching for her bone sword and finding it in her hand. "Just hide behind a pillar and stay safe, I can't be worrying about you right now. Don't do anything dangerous," Sakura told Sai, the dress and jewels around her melting into a form fitting suit of glittering white, harder than steel or spider's silk. She didn't have time to allow a great deal of detail or decal work, but it was functional as well as form fitting. The beads in front of her face seeped into a mesh that spread over her face as a helmet, hiding her face and hair from view.

Sasuke laughed, jumping down from the raised platform towards Sakura, eyes fixed on her like a magnet on metal. She side stepped and paced away, keeping him at a distance. Behind him Gaara raised his sand in a effort to pull Sasuke away, but his glittering red sand was pushed down and swallowed by darker, heaver sand the Gaara had a hard time pulling away from. Sakura heard Gaara curse before turning to face the King of the Thieves.

"Don't look at him," Sasuke groused, pushing a hand up through his hair and knocking the crown free. His hair was wildly styled in famous Uchiha fashion. It framed his pale face so prettily and complemented his already long lashes that would have made him beautiful if not for the masculine qualities he felt free to show off. He smiled and Sakura had to admit that he was swoon worthy. He was probably used to getting his way with the ladies.

Noticing her stare, Sasuke smirked. "I've been looking forward to this, but you're wearing a mask. Won't you let me see your beautiful face. You've haunted my dreams and I will have no peace for these many nights to come until I see your face."

Oh, he was good, a real smooth talker. "I have no reason to do such a thing," Sakura said, holding up her sword, ready to use it.

Sasuke lifted his palms and shrugged, showing off his bare shoulders. "No need for alarm. I'm not going to hurt you. I don't want your god mark either. I might have killed Gaara for his, but I'd rather have you alive and all to myself…" His eyes took in all the lines and edges of her, scanning up and down.

"That doesn't interest me. I'm content with my singleness."

"Why, you haven't had a taste of me."

Sakura suppressed a shiver, remembering Sai's warning about Sasuke. "Oh wow, you are a creep." But he wasn't the only creepy Uchiha she had ever known. "I'm going to have to warn you to back off now, I'm no interested."

"You sure you don't want a taste?" he teased, grin growing.

"Positive," Sakura shot back, keeping her sword arm steady.

"I'll test you out myself. If I can manage to beat you don't complain when I give you the chance to enjoy the embrace of a superior lover."

Sakura expected the fission but still couldn't help but grimace at his words for what they stirred up in her. "Come at me and I'll cut you down, Uchiha!"

He laughed and charged her, black designs spreading across his body to aid him with impressive speed. Sakura met his blows with her own and kept up a solid defense that would have made Kisame proud. But with his speed, Sakura knew there was no way she would be able to land a hit on Sasuke unless she picked out his tells and memorized them. What did he look like before he swung? What did his legs do before a lunge? What did that shift of his hips really mean? She needed to read his body to know how he would come at her. She could stop him from getting to her, but that wouldn't be enough to win.

'He's a showboating brat, don't forget that,' Kisame's words rang loud in her head. She remembered his consul about what to do in such situations.

But just as she thought she could pin point his wind up before a lunge his body turned to blue lightning and he was behind her before she could blink, arm snug around her waist, lips close to the back of her neck. Her eyes went wide as his fingers teased her through the soft parts of her armor.

"I want to touch you, take this off," he growled as another wave of lightning birthed behind his fingers atop her abdomen.

Sakura grunted from the force as Sasuke discharged his lightning and let it tear across Sakura's form. She was knocked backwards, into a pillar with a burned up hole in her armor's torso. She was bleeding there too, but it wasn't bad and she didn't think she needed to heal herself from it. She pulled herself up and stood on shaking legs.

"I don't want to hurt your pretty face, just let me see it," Sasuke purred, eyes spinning in delight as he beheld her. He seemed so proud of his accomplishments. His fingers still jumped with electricity and Sakura knew there would be more of it coming and she wasn't fast enough to stop them.

A wall of sand touched down in front of her, followed by Gaara. He glanced over her shoulder and she heard the far off rumble of iron sand. "Switch partners?" Gaara breathed, sweat beaded across his brow.

Sakura nodded, understanding. "Got it," she said before jumping away.

"You're not standing in my way," Sasuke hissed, lightning growing all around him as he faced off against Gaara. "Not again. You don't get to take this from me, too!"

"She'd be wasted on someone like you," Gaara huffed, rising his sand.

Sakura took to dreaming up a handful of floating platforms, just like steps, before climbing them up and standing high above the battle. The King of the Thieves looked up at her and Sakura felt a pang when she saw the truth of Sai's quip. He didn't look like Sasori and he was cute. The dream was dangerous for more than just it's deadly dangers.

"Submit," the man drolly commented before a fist of dark sand rose up.

In this fight Sakura was a little more prepared. Having fought Gaara gave her an idea of what she needed to do. She dreamed the hole in her armor shut and waited till the iron sand was close before she burst into flames and fell.

Red is hot, but white is hotter.

Sakura was a blinding inferno as she spun, twisting the blue white flames around her body and around the sand that still reached for her. She was burning and angry and there was fire every where as she turned. By the time she stopped spinning there was a dome of glass around her, burned into existence between her fire and his sand. One good punch and the glass came shattering around them.

Fighting the King of the Thieves was easier than fighting Gaara or Sasuke, she knew what she was doing and she had already developed plans for how to tackle Gaara in another spar that were perfect for her current fight. In his own fight, Gaara seemed to be doing well on his own. Sasuke was retreating and the lines of black on his skin grew darker. Sakura turned to see his form and nearly choked when the ghost behind him rose up. Sakura screamed but the dreamkiller still entered Sasuke and turned the boy's black eyes yellow.

The fight went south fast.

Sakura felt a stab through her shoulder and looked to her left to see the Third Kazekage holding a sword that ran clean through her shoulder. She burned at the sight. Sasuke also made use of the distraction and darkened in a body of lightning for the other end of the room. Gaara tracked but Sakura saw it first, knew it before it happened.

She screamed, burning the hand of the Thief before sprinting over to where Kankuro and Temari stood, throwing up a shield around all three of them. Sasuke's lightning smashed tight through it and sent her flying. Still, she righted herself, head bleeding through the helmet, and saw clearly enough to summon up a wall of blades, blocking Sasuke from the sand siblings.

Gaara's own sand wasn't far behind and Sasuke huffed, jumping away. Sakura groaned, trying to right herself before he could strike again, but Sasuke was far away with no intention of coming back. Someone was calling her name but Sakura didn't know who, nor did she care.

Sai was limp over the shoulder of Sasuke. Beside him the Kazekage stood, summoning more iron sand.

"This wasn't such a bust after all," Sasuke laughed before the sand swallowed them both.

Sakura was tilting sideways, falling down steps and bleeding from somewhere below her rib in addition to her shoulder. She couldn't hear out of one ear, but this was worse. She was far away, not sound reached her as she stumbled for Sai's last position.

"I told him to be safe this time," Sakura hissed, falling down once more as the dream snapped to another close.

* * *

When Sakura woke up the bedsheets around her were soaked with blood and people were screaming. She hadn't had a chance to heal herself in the dream world and everything carried over.

Nurses were coming to her and bending over her. Someone cut her shirt away with scissors and Sakura felt the fabric fall apart above her.

Through their hands Jugo stood in the corner, watching with a look of frozen horror on his face. Absently, she noticed the blood on his hands and wondered if that meant he was there when she first started bleeding and he had tried to stop it.

Someone slipped a breathing mask over her mouth and Sakura grumbled inwardly about the fuss they were making. This was nothing. This wouldn't kill her, not when Sai was in the hands of a dream killer.

Again.

* * *

"We want so much more—something the books on aesthetics take little notice of. But the poets and the mythologies know all about it. We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words—to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, **to become part of it**."

C.S. Lewis,  
 _The Weight of Glory_

* * *

AN:/ This is the last update for a little while. I hurt my wrist and needed some time off to heal. Work has also started up again and I am giving more and more of my time to my precious students (they're super cute and I plan on loving all of them).

I know what to do with the plot and you guys are so close to the truth behind the King of Thieves it's so exciting. I expect this series to continue for a few more months at least, depending on my condition.

If you can, please leave me a _**review**_ to let me know you're still on board with the story and still find it interesting. I love to hear back from you and know my work is reaching people. Thank you!

* * *

Side Note: I also have a A03 account where I'll begin to start uploading stuff (I'm super lazy) that usually shows up on my tumblr... my A03 handle is Vesperchan and of course my tumblr id is vesperlionheart in case you wanted to know.


	12. Chapter 12

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

"Before our forests heard the talk of men;  
Before the first of Druids was a child;–  
Long didst thou sit amid our regions wild  
Rapt in a deep prophetic solitude"

John Keats: _Endymion Book IV_

* * *

When Sakura woke up the bedsheets around her were soaked with blood and people were screaming. She hadn't had a chance to heal herself in the dream world and everything carried over.

Nurses were coming to her and bending over her. Someone cut her shirt away with scissors and Sakura felt the fabric fall apart above her.

Through their hands Jugo stood in the corner, watching with a look of frozen horror on his face. Absently, she noticed the blood on his hands and wondered if that meant he was there when she first started bleeding and he had tried to stop it.

Someone slipped a breathing mask over her mouth and Sakura grumbled inwardly about the fuss they were making. This was nothing. This wouldn't kill her, not when Sai was in the hands of a dream killer.

Again.

* * *

She was sleeping but she wasn't.

When she slept she was back in the dream world, but not this time. She had been knocked out as they stitched her up, but her mind didn't go back to the dream, instead it hovered over her body in a formless void.

Sakura saw Jugo sitting at her bedside, looking sick with worry as he held onto her hand with both of his, watching her face. Even she could tell she was pale.

"Oh," a voice from the doorway. "You're still in here."

Jugo glances over his shoulder without moving his head to see Yamato standing in the doorway with a book tucked under one arm and a bag slung over his shoulder. "What did you bring?"

Yamato shuts the door behind him and makes his way over to an empty seat on the opposite side of Sakura's bed. He pulls out a candle, a blanket, and a docking station for a iphone. Without waiting for comment or consent, Yamato begins to arrange his items on the bedside table. Jugo is scowling but that doesn't slow Yamato down or stop him in the least. The music is a soft, far off Rachmaninoff, the candle is winter pine, and the blanket is put under her free hand.

"Are you planning on staying?" Yamato asks, casually. He tips open the book in the palm of his hand and lets it fall open to a random page. It's a book of poems.

"You don't have to be here," Jugo huffs, looking back over at Sakura, searching for some sign of wakefulness. She's as still as ever. "I'm not leaving."

"That's fine," Yamato hums, glancing down at his book before his eyes shift over to Sakura. When his gaze eventually travels down her arm to her hand to Jugo's his eyes snap up sharply to lock onto the younger boy's face. "I don't mind the extra company."

"This home and property belong to the chroniclers. You are the guest." Sakura is only partly aware that this is the first time she's seen her friend so outwardly frosty with someone.

"That may be so, but you forget which family I'm a part of. Danzo may be a man with his own agenda and his own ideas, but there is nothing more lofty than his duty to the dreamer and her protection. He won't let her die on this end, and I am a ward of Root, thus I am dedicated to this cause."

Danzo is a many with many faces and many words, all turned in opposite directions facing opposite fronts, telling opposite truths. Yamato knows this as well as anyone, but he also knows of the manic obsession that is greater than the old man's lies. More than his deception, Danzo's obsession with the dreamer and the idea of being a part of the birth of a new god knows no equal. Danzo was a snake, but he wouldn't let Sakura come to harm and he was doing his best to protect her.

In the apple orchard he had been explicit in his desire to have her shadowed, and good that he did. There were other nin, ones Genma couldn't identify, hiding between the trees.

Maybe they were from the old families, the ones overthrown during the divide? Maybe there were the men of the other elders? There was no way to know for sure, but it didn't matter to Danzo who they were. All the world was his enemy, there was no difference.

"Sakura is safe now," Yamato says, coming out of his musings with confidence in his statement.

Jugo's eyes flash. "You weren't there when it happened."

Yamato scoffs. "No one was there when it happened, you were just the first to rush in and see. This isn't the first time her injuries have carried over into the waking world, and I'm willing to bet she's seen worse."

"You think that's something to joke about?" Jugo nearly snarls, lifting his head and hunching his shoulders like he's about to propel himself over the bed. Sitting up he's tall, taller than anyone ever remembered him being. "What the hell do you know? She was-she was bleeding and a mess and her eyes were open and she was staring at the ceiling and I-she wouldn't stop bleeding."

Yamato's expression softens and his eyes fall off Jugo to land on Sakura. "She's fine, it looked worse than what it was."

Jugo's shoulders shake. "No, it's not."

"Jugo-"

"Shut the hell up! She-she was _open_ and leaking and I couldn't stop any of it. I tried to put her back together, to pull at the pieces of her, but it was so wet and her eyes were open and I thought she was already gone." Jugo's eyes are wet and his throat sounds stuck when he turns his face away to watch Sakura again.

"That was the shock from waking up in a new world with old injuries." Yamato could only imagine what that must feel like. "She still had a pulse and a heartbeat."

Jugo curses. "I know that now."

"You probably went through some shock on your own. That must have been hard to see. You're not used to your friend looking like that. I don't think I've ever seen sakura so pale."

Jugo's shoulders don't shake anymore, but the tremors are only suppressed, not dismissed. "Don't talk about her like you know her so well."

Yamto's frown tugs deeper. "I'd like to think I know her a little bit better than most here, maybe not more than yourself, but I was close with Sakura before I even knew-"

"You walked away from her same as me, asshole," Jugo snapped. His words are full of bitterness. "When she wouldn't look at you, when she wouldn't face you with the same feelings, when she made you feel like so much more than you thought you were, only to leave you at the edge of a canyon of emotions with no way across…that was when you walked away. You did it when you realized what you felt and what she didn't feel were the same thing and that wasn't going to change."

Yamato can't find the words. Behind him the piano stills in the speakers as another track clicks on. Jugo is cutting with his assessment of things and it's painful to hear because he's right.

Yamato had walked away, or tried to, for those very reasons. He had seen it, the future he wanted with Sakura and the way they would grow towards one another, only to have that dream die in ripe soil. He tried to inspire that dream elsewhere with someone else, and then a few more, each one a more embarrassing failure than the last. He had seen it back than and not known it. Sakura looked like she was part of another world because she was. She was the dreamer.

"You sound awfully high and mighty for a man with just as many flaws." Yamato's voice is a whisper.

"I know what I did and I admit it freely, but that was then and this is now. I'm not leaving her now."

"You think it's that easy?" Yamato mockingly laughs. He closes his book of poem and reaches back into the bag to pull out a dreamer's account bound in leather. "You should know better, chronicler. Nearly all dreamers take lovers or find some stronger attachment in the dream world. She's already found someone I bet. Genma guessed it last winter when she seemed so much healthier and happier. She was never like that with either of us."

"I read her account of Sasori," Jugo sniffs. "I don't care. That doesn't change anything. He's dead and not even around in this latest dream world. I'm not afraid of some memory."

"Yet if you look at what happened to Itachi, Kakashi, or even Zabuza…they never had lovers in the real world. Lots of them forgot how to live like regular people in the real world. Rarely did a dreamer marry. I'm not sure Madara even knew the name of his wife for all he saw of her."

Jugo pulls Sakura's limp hand closer to his face and turns it so the knuckles are facing outwards. He kisses two at once, loving and reverent. "I don't care and why should I? It's not going to fix how I feel."

Yamto is quiet for a while. Eventually he sets the journal down and opens his book of poems again. He sighs. "No, it never fixes anything, does it?"

* * *

When Sakura awakens in the dream world it's been nearly a week of astral body hovering as she recovers in the real world. She woke up with Jugo still there and Genma at the foot of her bed. Yamato was asleep in a chair in the corner of the room. She didn't remember what she said, but it was funny because it made them all laugh.

She was waited on hand and foot as a male nurse came to see to her recovery while she waited to reenter the dream world. Something set her off and made the dreaming something she couldn't access. She saw fields of poppy and nothing else. Just a sea of floral red as far as the eye could see. She was a train run off the tracks, wheels still spinning madly in midair.

A week later she opens her eyes and sees glass.

Sakura blinked and inhaled before shifting. Looking down at her body she saw she was partially frozen in hazy sea foam green quartz so thin it looked like glass at parts. Her wounds were covered over in the stone and she could feel how the material stabilized her, thrumming with healing chakra.

"That's why it's green," she muttered out loud.

Looking up the quarts grew into a vented dome above her, allowing her access to air but also protecting her from attack. She reached out to touch the stone and it quivered,melting under her finger tips. As the stone fell away Sakura raised her glowing hands to the healing parts of her body to finish the process. There had been so much pain and stiffness in the waking world, but it was easy to smash her teeth together and bear it when she knew she could end it as soon as she dreamed.

She healed herself as the green quarts melted around her. By the time she was finished she stood in the center of a liquid pool of shimmering green, alone in the great hall where all the chaos had taken place. The melted quarts was trickling away, sparkling like starlight as it followed the grooves in the floor. She can rotate her shoulder again, and her back doesn't feel like it's split open anymore.

"Sakura?"

She turned and saw Kankuro, of all people, standing at the edge of the pool, chest heaving as if he had just finished running in. His eyes were wide and he was missing the hood but not the purple markings across his face. His features were a bit wider and more pronounced than those of his brother.

'Kankuro had been the second of his siblings to enter the dream. His sister survived a year and a month. He survived eight months. Before Gaara was nominated to take his place, the elders took precautions.'

"How long?" Sakura asks, knowing Kankuro will know what she wants.

"Th-three days only. You went into that stone after taking the attack for us. Temari and I would have died if you-" He swallows and it is loud enough for her to hear across the hall. "Why did you do it? You're a god."

"I am no such thing." Sakura waves a hand and her ruined armor melts away to a loose cotton dress that's meant for servants. It's more a rag than a dress, but it's loose and easy to move in. She doesn't have need for anything gold or fine. Her feet are bare as she stalks across the green covered floor. "I'm only pissed I lost my friend once again. Where is Gaara?" her heart stutters. "Was he hurt as well?"

Kankuro shakes his head. "He's by the pools. He'll want to see you."

Sakura nods, stalking off after the skittish boy who seems meeker than ever. There is a single bandage around his left hand, but nothing else about him looks damaged.

"Is Temari well?" Sakura asks as they turn a corridor.

He seems startled by the sound of her voice but looks back and nods before swallowing. "She was uninjured, but has had to take up the responsibility of governance in Gaara's absence. He's been…"

"You said he wasn't hurt though!"

"Not hurt, but Gaara's mood has been…well, I've never seen it this bad. He's angry, but it's more than that. He was tricked and outclassed and you were hurt. He didn't say it but I think he blamed himself for that in particular, because you defended his family."

Sakura snorted. "Please, this is nothing compared to what I've dealt with in the past, and I'm so detached from the pains of my physical body I don't even care when it's like this." Her eyes darken. "But I'm pissed as well. I let my friend down, I was not weary when I should have been."

Sakura shuts her mouth and keeps it closed, but her mind rolls on, blaming herself for failing to act in the first place. Because she waited so long, because she enjoyed herself for those nights, because she didn't _move…_ Baki triggered those events to inspire her to action. She let the narrative go stale. It was her fault all this happened. It was her fault Sai was taken.

The turn one last corner and Sakura sees the sunshine bleed over the pale tan floor from outside. She steps out between the columns as Kakuro remains where he stands. He bows to her, eyes soft and downcast as he watches her leave.

Sakura crosses the walkway between the pools, following it all the way to the end where the Pharaoh sits in a mess of sparkling sand shifting up and down around him in agitated frequencies. His crown is gone and his hair is a wild mess of red.

There's sand all over the platform and before she can get far it shifts away from her and Gaara turns sharply, eyes narrowed in harsh anger only to melt when he sees who it is. His sand falls limp around him as he scrambles to his hands and pushes himself up off the floor, racing for her.

Sakura doesn't know what to expect, but she opens her arms anyway and is glad for it when Gaara fits into them neatly, like he belonged there all along. His shoulders shake and she pulls him closer, hand buried deep in his hair to sooth small circles through the mess of copper curls. Her shoulder where his face is buried is wet but she doesn't mind.

"Were you worried?" she hums, melting into amusement even though in the back of her heart she's worried for Sai.

"I couldn't reach you, you were hurt and I-I was there but I couldn't reach you. It's my fault."

Sakura pulls away and bops his nose. "Shush, it's not anyone's fault but that brat prince's. You didn't do anything wrong and I'm fine and whole. See?"

He looks over her. "Your wounds? I saw blood."

"I took care of it, I know how to heal myself, remember?"

Gaara blinks and she thinks maybe she forgot how to think in his grief. She pulls back further and uses both her thumbs to wipe away the tear trails on his face. He leans into her hands like a cat, breathing even under her touches. She kisses the corner of his head, unable to help but dote on the fearful and powerful 'demon dreamer.'

She read about what they did to him, but they marked his body and invited spirits into him to make him stronger. It worked, they though, only for Gaara to snap every so often and kill his caretakers in the waking world. The practice was banned after on particular bloodbath.

Holding the boy in her arms and looking down at him Sakura can't see what the texts claimed him to be. He's soft and hurt and crying for her. She found him alone, cut off from the others and stewing in his worries. Has he ever been held and cared for like this? Has anyone ever told him he was loved? Has anyone ever validated his existence outside of being the dreamer?

"Are you okay?" she asks in a whisper, face close and eyes searching his.

"I-I'm fine. I know what I am and what I am to this world. You don't have to worry about me. It's harder to kill me than you can believe."

"That's not what I'm worried about. You're shaking like a leaf. When was the last time you had something to eat or drink? I'm sorry I scared you. I was a mess, wasn't I?"

"You risked yourself for dead things." Gaara's eyes drift down and his tone deflates. "You're still alive but you nearly threw that away to protect a pair of siblings that haven't breathed in ages. I can not call you wise for this."

Sakura wrinkles her nose and doesn't stop her hand for going back to his hair. He shudders at the touch but leans into it when she starts to work circles into his scalp. "They're people you love. Even if they're dead, they're all you have here in the dream world. You're dead too, you know. I'd do the same to save you."

Gaara makes a sound like a mewl and glares up at her, eyes soft. "Foolish woman. My mother was foolish, they killed her for it."

Sakura's hand stills in his hair for a moment before resuming. "I know what they did to her. I know what efforts they took to ensure she birthed a worthy dreamer. I'm sorry, Gaara, but I'm not going to apologize for wanting to keep my friends safe. That's why I need to go after Sai again."

"He will come to you on his own, like he did the last time. He is not someone you need to worry about," Gaara mutters.

"That was before I knew he was with the dream killer. Sasuke was possessed when he took Sai because he knew-or the dream killer knew- I would follow him to save Sai. He's been with me through so much and I refuse to abandon him after all this."

Gaara's eyes are a fraction wider for her. "You do love him, don't you?"

"Sai? Yeah, he's someone I've shared so much with. He's my precious friend. Of course I love him."

Gaara's hand is close to the side of her dress, so he clutches it, wrinkling it between his fingers. Gaara swallowed, looking down at where he holds her dress. "The Sigh of Dejection said something that sounded the same, but do you…do you see him as a lover?"

Sakura thought of Sasori and her heart hurt. "No, I know what that feels like, but Sai's something different, nothing less, but different."

Sakura doesn't ask Gaara why it's so important she clarifies this for him. She has a suspicion, but wants to ignore it for the sake of her mission. No one's cared for him like this before, of course Gaara would start to feel differently towards her. It wasn't so far fetched to believe he could.

"You're going to go after Sasuke and Sai?" Gaara asks, searching her face, hand still gripping her dress. She's his lifeline.

"Yeah, it's dangerous if the dreamer doesn't move. Don't you know that?" she asks with a sad sort of laugh that makes her body feel so much heavier.

Gaara glares when he feels her tremble through the fabric still in his fist. He tugs her a little closer. "I'm coming with you."

"What? Wait, what about your job here, what about being Pharaoh?"

"That doesn't matter, Temari can do it, or I'll leave a sand clone to slunk on the throne while she does all the real work. I'm coming with you. Do you even know where they might have gone?"

"Af-after the last wild god." Sakura feels unsteady. "Sai said it was in the Valley of the End of Kings."

"And where is that?" Gaara sounds older as he stares her down.

"I'll find it eventually." She swallows. "It can't be that hard to find."

"The Valley of the End of Kings is where the greatest and only the greatest of the first Pharaohs were buried way back in our history. It is a place hidden from all others. Not even I am _allowed_ to know where this place is."

"…But….you do know where it is," Sakura breaths, watching as Gaara's lips begin to curl at the edges.

"Of course, who do you take me for? I have my ways of finding what I want." He looks down at his hand that holds onto her dress. He tugs her even closer to bow his head into her shoulder. "I am going with you. You are not allowed to go where I can not follow."

"That sounds an awful lot like a royal decree," Sakura hums.

"I doubt that would make you listen to me any more."

"No, if anything I think I'd resent you trying to control me."

"I don't want to control you, I just don't want you to leave me again. I couldn't reach you behind all that glass, even though I knew you were hurt."

In the real world she had slept for nearly a week, but in the dream only three days had passed. It was an odd way to think of time, but she didn't dwell on it. Maybe things would get wonky, maybe they wouldn't. That didn't change the fact that she had a job to do.

Her knees buckled and she felt the dream world quiver around her. "I'm almost out of time," she whispered, eyes wide. "But I feel like I just got here."

"Your sleep may be disrupted for something on the other side," Gaara explains, frowning up at her before pulling his head back. "You've healed yourself. They'll notice. Go. When you return I will be ready to depart."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something but she slipped off the edge of the dream and fell into darkness once again, snapped and suddenly displaced once more.

* * *

When she woke up Jugo was gone as well as Genma and Yamato, but at the end of her bed sat Danzo, looking nonchalant as he peered down at the floor, hands rested on top of the cane between his legs.

"You've healed yourself."

Sakura licks her lips and then pulls back the cover to look at her body, still in scrubs. Her shoulder is still bandaged but she can feel the smoothness of the skin when she rotates it. The stitches and scars are gone. She is whole once more.

"You don't sound so surprised." Sakura swallowed and sat up in bed. "Are you here for a reason?"

Danzo hummed and poked something with his cane. Sakura leaned over to see the edge of a head, short hair messy and caked with gleaming blood. It was enough to chill her to the core.

"What?"

"You would have been easy enough to smother in your sleep, now more than ever. This was from Genma, thank him later. He hasn't had to kill a person in years, not since coming back from the tours of active duty." When Sakura didn't say anything Danzo looked up. "In comparison Yamato is more classically trained."

"You're here though," Sakura breathed, trying her hardest not to look down, not to see the body at the end of her bed.

The real body.

The real person.

The real blood.

 _Real, real, real, real, real, real, real, real, real-_

"You're harder to kill than they anticipated. Healing has been a factor that's saved your hide more than once. They expect it to save you again in the future." Danzo turns to her. "It's not quite safe for you here, not with all the other elders here."

She pushed down the rising bile that threatened to come undone all over the bedsheets. She would not be so shocked in front of this man, not after what she has already done. Real or not, Sakura suspected it felt the same when she thrust a knife into the meat of a person. She was no better than him.

"I'm not so sure it's safe anywhere with you," Sakura admits before she knows what she is saying.

Danzo almost smiles at her. "You are right to recognize that. I am never safe, and I am not tame. I have killed and will likely take life again in this very real world. I am not a safe person but that is not a reason you have to fear me. I will not let you come to harm.

"I don't think I trust you."

"Good. Trust should not be so cheaply earned."

He makes the effort to stand and Sakura can see the years weigh his body down. He is old and almost frail for it, but there are too many years of hard work and sacrifice carved into his body for it to ever be considered frail. Sakura feels fear, but it's a far off fear. She almost believes him when he says she has no reason to fear him. She believes he doesn't want her dead, her gut tells her that, but sometimes there are things just as bad as death.

"Where are the others? Where is Jugo?"

"Your chronicler is well, though Yamato had to make an effort to remove the boy from the room earlier. He refused to be parted from you and we used force." Danzo nods at the body on the floor. "Not quite the same amount of force, of course. I don't want Log angry with me for hurting the only family he has in this whole mess of an alliance. He might turn against you if anything happened to Jugo."

"That's normal for family."

It is the early morning hours, the hours before sunrise and the world is still dark. Sakura's room is dim for it, with only silver outlines showing any shape. It is in this dark room with a dark voice that Danzo cuts her down.

"And yet your mother has made no move to contact you in all the time you have been suffering. True, she is cut off now, but she's been made aware of your condition. _Hmph_ , family. Where is she now?"

"You should know better," Sakura growls.

"This world is coming to ruin. Your grandmother failed to pass on her legacy and one of the four houses is all but dead to the alliance. Log too, if not for Jugo his house would have no future. The time is ripe for a new generation, don't you think?" he asks, voice even and calm like the voice of a man discussing the weather or stock prices.

"What do you want?" Sakura hisses.

Outside the sun breaks and silver burns away to faded gold. His voice is filled with a frightening truth. "…I want you to live. I want you to succeed, and I want to be there to see it when it happens."

Sakura can see it, bleeding blazing glory, her dream world crumbling around her while she emerges a woman in white fire, hallowed and holy and blazing above the floor in front of a man who has worshiped nothing save this ideal for as long as he could whisper a prayer. She could see it, she could see the truth of what he wanted and it hurts her in a way she didn't expect.

'I am no such creature,' she wants to scream, but she can not.

He taps the body on the floor once more and then steps over it. "I will send in someone to clean up the mess, for now you should rest and doze while you can." When he looks at her his voice drops a pitch and sounds almost hallowed. "You will be the dreamer that swallows the sun."

* * *

For whatever reason, she came into her awareness along the banks of the Nile river. Sakura awoke and rose from where she lay on the sand banks just beyond the reed patch in the water. It was sunny and warm and she felt like laying out a little longer. The palace was behind her, she could run back there in no time.

Sakura stood from the sands and walked forward until the water lapped at her bare ankles. Her dress was a frayed mess that ended around her thighs, allowing her to take another deep step into the river without getting anything wet. With a shawl over her head it was almost cool outside between the sun and the sands: something she didn't think possible.

Sakura didn't want to leave from such a nice spot. Even when she took another step, pushing the waters away with her knees, the feeling was one of tranquility, anchoring her to the moment. The world around her was a mess of chaos and distrust and terror. A moment of peace was as rare as it was sweet.

And like all good things, it didn't last.

There was a thrashing in the not so nearby reeds, drawing her attention to the outline of a small river boat. A pair of disgruntled Nile hippos stood in the way, water up to their ears as they huff in agitation. A second boat bobbed not far behind he first one, already capsized. There was cursing and Sakura heard the angry call of the animal as it rose up and trampled the body of whoever was coming up from the waters.

The reeds were where the Hippos cared for their young, they were attacking what they believed to be a threat to their family.

A part of Sakura felt as heavy as the dead body at the bottom of the Nile, finding a startling lack of desire to help. Something bad was happening in front of her and she felt like napping. What was the body of a dream figure? She slept in a bed above the corpse of a real life human man with a family and a bank account and a blood type and a personalized set of pet peeves. What was anything in the dream compared to that.

Sakura moved just as the other boat turned over. She took to the water like a glass surface and hopped over the hippos to land in front of one and kick it's snout. Mentally apologizing to the ream animal, she sunk her heel into the water and kicked, sending her, the boat, and the last capsized body surging backwards towards the opposite bank away from the hippo family.

The ruined boat hit sand and Sakura lost her footing, tumbling backwards over the bank loosing her grip. Grumbling, she righted herself, knees still in the sun bleached grains and digging. She pulled her hood further forward even though her hair was a mess underneath it. She tucked it back with her fingers till it couldn't be seen while crawling upright on her knees towards the groaning body. She was glad he sounded alive, she wasn't looking forward to having to give him any form of CPR.

From not to far away she spotted another body in the water treading towards the shore. Another survivor? Someone lucky enough to get away? She hadn't seen him before, he must have been under when she walked across the water for the other guy.

"Hey!" Sakura reached for the body as it crawled up and hack up river water. Sakura waited till the man sat back and wiped his face with his shirt sleeve, still looking away from her, obscuring his face. His hair was bound under a turban. "You're still alive, right?" she asked.

"Only thanks to you, it seems," the voice drolly enunciated, still coughing up the last bit of sweet water.

Sakura froze, feeling struck by the actual sound of the man's voice. Her hands began to shake. Swallowing became difficult as behind her the other boy reached the shore and began to crawl out, calling out to his friend.

He turned to face her and smirked at the look on her face. "I suppose I should say thank you. I didn't think this way would be so dangerous." The cloth around his head falls apart and his hair underneath is wet and sticking to his face. "I know how to be gracious when I need to be. Who am I thanking, girl?"

Sakura stared at the beautiful boy who was now a man in front of her. She swallowed and felt her eyes sting as she pulled away. Sasori frowned, pulling away the last of his turban and wringing the water from it. From behind her, Deidara stumbled up the beach, calling out the other man's name.

"Sasori?" she breathed. She could have been echoing what she heard Deidara shout, but she knew too much and too fiercely for her word to be mistaken as an echo. This only made the redhead frown.

"You're called Sasori?" he teased, eyeing her up and down. "Funny, I thought that was what they called me."

"You're Sasori of the red sand in this world," Sakura breathed, leaning away from him as her mind reeled. "I didn't know you would be here this time as well."

"I'm sorry, but have we met?" Sasori huffed, reaching forward to grab her chin and lift her face up. Her hod fell back, but not far enough to show off the rest of her, only to dispel enough of the shadows on her face. His eyes went wide. "No, I don't think I would forget you."

Sakura blinked, remembering herself. She pushed his hand away and backed up in the sand, glancing from him to Deidara who was content to take the backseat and leave all the talking to others while he checked his pockets.

"Wh-what were you doing on the Nile behind the palace? If a guard had seen you-"

"We were invited," Deidara cut in, holding up a clay tablet with a seal scarab on it. "But I guess Sasori is the only one that kid Pharaoh wants. We're official though, we got passes and everything."

Sasori's eyes flashed to Sakura, taking in her rags. "What about you?" His head tilted to the side and Sakura felt her heart stutter. "What are you doing so close to the palace looking as you do?"

Sakura reached into her dress and imagianed the same table Deidara had pulled out being just beyond her fingers. When she removed her hand she heard the blond's scoff. "I was also invited. I won't say why, but I can imagine my reason is not so dissimilar from your's." It felt good, better than she could believe, to talk with Sasori like this again. He wasn't an emotionless doll, or a phantom, or a far off figure she had to run away from. He was in front of her and he was someone she would have to work with in this dream. He was close and he wasn't going anywhere she couldn't follow.

Deidara snorted, looking her over in a dismissive way, even if his cheeks did flush when his eyes landed on her face. "You don't look like someone who knows anything about anything."

"Not even about the Valley of the End of Kings?" Sakura cooed, smirking at Deidara's reaction.

Sasori whistled low, eyes half lidded in interest. "I though I was the only thief in this industry who knew such a thing. No one else has ever lived to tell their tales."

"I'm not a thief, I'm more of a historian, if you have to know," Sakura bantered, hating how easy it was to smirk and put on airs like a teenage girl again. She shouldn't, she knows she shouldn't. "Not that it matters. The Pharaoh will introduce us however much he chooses. Until then, just think of me as a mystery."

He seems to brighten to the way she curls her lips and she tells herself he is new and he is blank and he is empty of all the memories that ruined her and made her into something new. Every world has a new incarnation of the actors, and rarely are they ever ones that remember.

"You sound like you think you're something important, rags." He smirks at the state of her dress and Sakura doesn't know if she should be embarrassed or not.

"My name is Sakura."

He tries out her name on his lips and Sakura wants to shiver, but she doesn't.

"Were you here when he brat prince called down hell in the party yard?" Deidara asked, nodded back towards the palace. "We all heard about it, stories and what not. It sounds crazy."

It's too much of a temptation to play this game with him. Sakura looks to Sasori when she answers. "There have been quite a number of stories circulating, each one more wild than the last, but all I saw was the glass she spun herself into. It's all but melted now. No one knows where she went and everyone says something different."

"So you saw her?" the redhead asks.

Sakura shrugged. "Some of her, yeah."

"What did she look like?" Deidara demands in a breathy voice, full of longing and energy. "I heard she had eyes like Nile reeds and hair as dark as Nut's emptiness with a fierce set to her features."

Sakura remembered she had been wearing a wig during the fight, as was custom for most ancient woman of Egypt. It had also helped her hide from Sasuke by looking like everyone else in the hall. Pink hair would have stood out too much and Sakura was positive she would have been remembered more clearly.

"Yeah, I guess so, I didn't pay that much attention. I mean, the other things were more important than her eyes," Sakura responded, faking disinterest as she glanced backwards over her shoulder at the palace. She couldn't help but glance back to the two men. It was a temptation to ask Sasori what he thought, but she fought it down. "You can ask the Pharaoh himself, I heard he was awfully close with her."

Sasori chuckles at Deidara's crestfallen expression. "What do you expect, gods associate among their own. There's no place for the crawling class like us in their eyes. We're little more than bugs, remember?" When Deidara stutters and looks away Sasori chuckles in a way that is almost mocking, but not quite. His eyes canter to Sakura, his head tilts and it sends her world reeling. "Right?"

Sakura thought of germs and bacteria infecting the body, she thought of herself againts the Crawling Chaos, she thought of a mosquito trapped in a locked room at night, she thought of all the little things that still humbled her. She thought of the scarab on Gaara's body.

"I don't know, I've always been weary of bugs myself. You'd be surprised what little things can take a full grown man down."

"You're some sort of delightful," Deidara exhaled, grinning at her in a friendly sort of way. "That's a refreshing way of looking at things."

Sakura rolled her shoulders to the compliment, far from being unsettled from such words after two years of worlds where people were drawn to her. Still, when she looks up and sees the way Sasori watches her she almost stutters and looses it. _Almost_.

"It might not be so dreadful to work for the sand rat again if we're partners in this endeavor."

It hurts to see him again and she doesn't understand how she feels so happy. Why does her heart feel like it's bleeding when all she wants to do is smile?

"I'm heading back, are you joining me?" Sakura asks, pointing to the palace not far away.

"You got a boat somewhere in the brush?" Deidara asked, annoyance clear in his tone.

Sakura dreamed one up just out of view and led them to it. It was just big enough for the three of them and no more. Together the group made it back up the river and docked on the opposite bank, away from any hippo. Sakura tied her boat to one of the pillars around the pavilion in the middle of Gaara's floating platform and helped the boys out of her boat and onto the walkway.

They didn't make it much farther before the grains of sand around them began to stand up and levitate. Sakura felt electricity in the air before a swirm blinded her and forced her away from the two boys. When she opened her eyes again Gaara was standing there in traveling garb, red hair wild, scowl in place.

"You," Gaara growled, eyes narrowed on Sasori.

The taller redhead smirked and stepped forward, in front of Deidara. "It's been a long time, cousin. How's the kingdom?"

"How late did you plan on being?" Gaara went on, eyes still stormy.

"That's nice to hear. Why don't you move, you're blocking the view of my new friend." Sasori's tone was mocking and Sakura didn't know how he knew to set Gaara off so royally after only a minute and a glance of being in front of the younger redhead, but he did. When Gaara flinched Sasori chuckled, voice sharp and cutting. "You're standing in front of her like a shield, you never leave your back open to anyone like that. And where's your crown, you pompous bastard? You hate your red hair."

Gaara's voice was a curling growl, it was an animal between forces, being pressed in tighter and tighter. Sakura could feel his agitation around her in the air when she stepped forward, close enough to touch his elbow. The tension snapped harmlessly apart like a broken rubber band.

"Is he really your cousin?" Sakura asked.

"You don't see the family resemblance?" Gaara intoned, voice less agitated. He leaned in closer to her touch, a bit unconsciously. Sakura could feel his sand reaching for her skin, touching and dancing off her hands and face and legs. He was unsettled.

"Oi-what about the big fruit here, or have ou forgotten?" Deidara interrupted, stepping forward. "I heard a rumor that the newest owner of a godmark is here and she's single. Where are you hiding the lotos of the desert, yeah? I didn't put up with master's whining for nothing."

Sakura stopped a snort as Gaara's shoulders sagged. "I've made no such promise and I have no such power over her. As she remains here, she is my guest to go and do as she pleases. I will not summon her like a dog for your own amusement." Gaara looked to Sasori. "Not even for you."

"You never do anything for me," Sasori dryly commented. His eyes softened when he looked to Sakura. "But that's fine, I have no interest in a girl with a godmark that thinks so highly of herself."

The air was supercharged once more and Sakura had to actually grab Gaara's arm to make him drop the charge. Sasori was baiting him. Sakura so close put Gaara at ease once more.

"I didn't call you here for pleasantries. We're leaving for the Valley of the End of Kings tonight. You will lead us the way."

Sasori looked bored. "In exchange for?"

Sakura felt Gaara's sand snake up her arms under her sleeves. "The tomb of the Crawling Chaos has no god anymore, but my men still guard it. What could you do with undisturbed and unrestricted access to such a place?"

"True, you know what I want, and I know why I came here. Are you willing to deal me this?" Sasori asked.

"We are leaving tonight. It's a straight ride to Kalba Oasis, after that you will lead us the rest of the way."

Sasori looked between Sakura and then Gaara. "Does this 'we' you speak of mean more than just you and me?" When Gaara nodded stiffly Sasori began to grin. "Oh, that's fine then. You in a rush?"

"Someone has a week's advance on us, so yes." Gaara's sand shifted around them, but Sasori didn't seem concerned. "You never did like waiting. Are you well enough for such a task?"

Sasori raised a hand over his head to stretch, popping the bones in his back. "Well enough, I think. Deidara, stay here and look for your girl like a lovesick fool. I'll be back before the month is over. My cute little cousin needs my help."

* * *

" _To live in fantasy is to break your heart."_

 _-milktea-chan_

* * *

AN:/ I lied! I told you that the last chapter is the last update for a little while, but I wanted to do an update every week in July and I did it at the last minute. I pulled it all together even if it almost killed me with work and a wrist injury and just plain old exhaustion from long work weeks. Bwahaha, I feel thrilled for this.

I know the chapter is shorter, but you'll have to forgive me because there is only so much flirting my two favorite dream characters can put into a single chapter and still keep to the plot of the story. I wanted to get to that ending with Sasori and leave you there to see where this is going. Sakura is going t be traveling across a very dangerous desert towards Sai and Sasuke with two redheads who both have the hots for her in different ways.

(Also the scene in the beginning with the boys from the real world was one I had been wanting to write for a good long while now. There is something about helpless desperate onlookers that I gravitate towards and I wanted to include another viewpoint in this story.)

If you can, please leave me a _**review**_ to let me know you're still on board with the story and still find it interesting. I love to hear back from you and know my work is reaching people. Thank you!

* * *

Side Note: I also have a A03 account where I'll begin to start uploading stuff *coughsmutcough* (I'm super lazy) that usually shows up on my tumblr... my A03 handle is Vesperchan and of course my tumblr id is vesperlionheart in case you wanted to know.


	13. Chapter 13

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

 _Seek God in Lesser Forms_  
 _Consumption is sacred union_  
 _The Divine rots in your gut_  
 _And it will flower in your ruin_

-Mantra of the Devourer  
Matrimony of Teeth and Sinew

* * *

Sakura felt herself falling apart a little each morning. Dreaming was a strange sort of delight, but waking was no longer a safety. She was trapped between two dangerous worlds with no safe place to run to. Someone in the waking world wanted her dead, and had made more than one attempt on her life that she knew about. Jugo was easy to read, even if Yamato and Genma weren't. She could tell when things were bad because of them.

In addition to the fear of her murder, the ban on outgoing calls was still in effect, keeping her from contacting Karin or any of her other friends. Sakura had tried to get out and at one point she thought her messages would load from a point out in the far reaches of the orchard, but at the last minute her phone ran out of the will to search for a signal and gave up on her.

When Sakura asked Jugo about Karin he said she was fine and Suigetsu was doing a great job taking care of her. It wasn't enough to abate Sakura's fears. It had been weeks since she was taken in by Jugo's family, and she could feel the summer abating. It still had a good few weeks left, but she could feel the turning of each new day bring her closer to a colder season.

'It's the season for reaping now, love.'

Sakura dropped Madara's journal from her hands and stood up, holding her head. His voice had been in her head a moment ago, new and strong.

"Sakura?" Jugo was ever attentive, turning around from his own work to come to her side.

Sakura saw his desk where the story sat in paper across the keyboard of his laptop. She had started with her account of the Kingdom of Gods, having skipped over a portion of her dealings in the Kingdom of Monsters that she swore she would never tell anyone else, least of all Jugo.

"It's nothing, just another headache," Sakura lied with a smile.

"You're straining your eyes again. Put the journals down and treat yourself to a warm cloth over your eyes. I'll have one of the help bring it to us."

Sakura tipped and fall back down into her seat, wondering if she heard Jugo right. They had people come to help clean, but since when did his family keep people designated as 'the help?' "That's a bit excessive. I can rest on my own."

Juugo knelt down in front of her and took the book from it's spot on the floor to tuck under his arm. "You're pushing yourself again. You're trying too hard on this side and trying too hard on that side. Your friend is fine, you said you thought so yourself. I'm sure you'll find him soon."

Sakura felt the beginnings of a true headache beginning to bloom behind her eyes so she shut them and pretended to be tired. That wasn't hard to fake. She was always tired. She never rested. "It's been so long. It's not fair. I feel like I just got him back and he's spent more time lost to me than with me."

"I know."

"This curse isn't fair."

"I know."

"Nothing is fair."

"I know."

Sakura dropped her head onto her shoulder and sagged into the seat. Her joints didn't feel like the joints of a girl her age. The points of her body where she turned and and rotated upon felt like they belonged to an older woman, halfway done with her life and her body. She felt old, physically and mentally, like a crone.

"How old am I?" she whispered into her hands as she moves her fingers to cross over her lips. "I've been living twice as much as anyone else, at night and during the day. Does that still count as two years or four?"

Jugo chuckles, reaching up to pull her hands away from her face. She feels his fingers rubbing over the sharp edges of her knuckles until they feel soft again. "I don't think you're too old."

Sakura's chuckle turns sharp when she recognizes the lie in his words. He doesn't mean to, but he can't lie to her very well. His voice gave him away. "Do I really look that bad?"

Juugo's voice stuttered as he scrambled to come up with an excuse. He didn't need to, as Genma was the one to sweep in and provide a rescue. "Don't ask kids what they think, Sakura." He stalked over to Sakura's chair and leaned down to rest his hands on her shoulders, squeezing and kneading the skin there. He dropped down his face to kiss the side of her head. "You're stunning."

Sakura kept her eyes shut. "You just lie better."

Genma chuckled. "I just like my woman more mature."

"Cut that out," Yamato bit, stalking into the room and slamming the sliding door shut behind him. He narrowed his eyes at where Genma's hands still rested. "Don't tease her."

Genma chuckled, and it was a deep sound. "Who said I was teasing?"

"I do," Sakura mutter, cracking open an eye. She twisted her head to glare up at her friend before huffing and giving in. She didn't have the energy to shrug him off, or the motivation to. "You're too smooth to stay in one place so long. Remember?"

"She knows me so well. Maybe that's why we're such good friends," Genma laughs.

With a final kiss to her temple he straightens up and salutes to the others before leaving out the way Yamato came in. Jugo huffed a sigh but Yamato didn't seem to shift at all. His eyes were narrowed in Sakura's direction, watching her face and shoulders for signs of weariness. She knew he found some.

"I think I might go to bed early. I'm not feeling well."

"You went to bed early last nigh, too." Yamato offers a hand to help her up.

"There's little else for me to do here. Sit, read, eat, speak…pretend to be a fine lady in a noble house. There's nothing for me to do here, nowhere to go. But there I have a purpose…I have something I need to do."

"Won't you have your dinner first? It's still so early." Jugo follows close beside her out of their room and into the hallway.

It's too to be this cool, but in the mountains the air is sharp and cool on her face as it passes through the open windows in a wind. The cold is coming early, earlier than it's come before. Where did the summer go? Wasn't it too short?

"I don't want food."

Yamato grabbed her wrist before she could turn down the hall to her bedroom and tugged her towards the kitchen. She hissed at how he yanked on her wrist, but bit her lip when she remembered how she didn't want them knowing about how all her joints hurt her. It wasn't something she could heal in the sleeping world, it was the ailment of her true physical body.

"What are you doing?" Sakura hissed, glaring sideways at Jugo as he drew up parallel with them.

"You don't want something, but you need it. You're skipping meals again." Yamato pushed open the kitchen door for her and held it open for both her and Jugo. "You thought we wouldn't notice."

"If I eat when I'm not hungry it makes my stomach upset. I'm staying hydrated and taking vitamins. That should be enough."

"Not for me," Yamato says before tugging Sakura over to a seat at the counter.

Jugo already has a leftover lunch in the microwave being heated. Sakura grimaced at the plate of food, already tasting ash in her mouth. She knew what she ate would all taste the same. But they were also right about needing food. She would hate to, but Sakura knew that when the food came out of the microwave and cooled off in front of her setting, she'd have to eat it because it was the right thing to do.

'And you always do the right thing.'

Sakura jerked in her seat, but neither of the boys or Genma noticed. The voice in her head was teasing her more and more and it was getting harder to convince herself it was really her own dark self talking back to her and not a creation of the dreams.

When she closed her eyes she saw Sasori at the base of the ladder in the Kingdom of Monsters. She could stay and be happy, or do the right thing and go on. She saw Sai, struggling to give her that moment when she brings her sword across his neck. She saw too many painful things.

Jugo put the meal in front of her and Sakura picked up a fork and began eating, swallowing the ash tasting food like she deserved it because the voice in her head was laughing about all the choices she's made and all the hurt it's caused her. She made choices. She deserved this. She made hard decisions. She deserved this. She killed for this.

Sakura pretended she wasn't spiraling into psychosis and the boys let her be until her head hit the pillow.

Sakura mumbled something and felt grain on her lips. She flinched, reaching up to wipe her face, blinking awake. It was early morning, and there was a swelling sun cresting over the horizon visible through the thin fabric of her tent.

Oh yes, the journey.

"Morning doll-face."

Sakura's heart hammered like a hummingbird as she jerked upright and scooted away, backing up on the roll towards the edge of the tent. Sasori was sitting up on his own across the room, smirking wildly at her reaction. Gaara's roll was between them, but it remained neat and didn't look slept in.

Sakura blinked, reaching up and running a hand through the mess that was her hair. It was disorienting when first waking up in a dream, but she was remembering quickly what happened the last few nights.

Gaara had put together a caravan for the three of them, Sasori left Deidara behind to hunt down the god slayer, and the three of them set out into the desert looking for hawks. Or was it falcons? Their nesting ground was a marker for how Sasori could lead them all to where Sakura hoped she would find Sai.

"You look like you slept well. Can't say the same of my dear cousin, but I'd like to think the beauty sleep wouldn't help him much," Sasori teased, watching her with predatory eyes. "Least not when he's compared to me."

Sakura schooled her features into a perfect mask of passivity. "Have I overslept?"

Sasori hummed. "Not at all. I enjoy watching you sleep…almost as much as my cousin I would say. He was smart to stay out of the tent if he's just going to lie awake all night and be a spook about it."

"My presence is necessary to keep precious people safe from you, dear cousin," Gaara bit in, pushing the tent flap back and stomping in. His stare was withering. "You have a reputation."

Sasori was all snark and rakish in his smile. "And you have a temper. Quit your patronizing banter. You'll give the poor girl ideas she doesn't need about my flawless character and charming personality."

"Your personality makes me want to retch," Garra replies like it's a reflex, expression bland and eyes dull.

"No account for taste," Sasori hums. He looks up to Sakura as she rises. "Are you ready to leave?"

"It's better to get moving now before I decide I'd rather sleep the rest of the day away," Sakura mummers in response, not truly meaning to be heard. When she looks up Gaara is inches from her face, scrutinizing the shadows under her eyes. She glares at him until he takes a step back. "Did you not expect as much?" she tried to joke.

"If you need the extra rest-"

Sasori started to interject, but Sakura didn't hear the rest of his words as she pushed her way outside the tent and into the open desert in the light of a passed away night. She let the sun warm her before Sasori came up behind her and tugged her hood down over her head to shade her eyes and face with a chastising word. He kept fussing over her even as Gaara simmered in anger from the tent flap and warned his cousin to let the grown woman do as she pleased. Of course they had to trade insults after that.

Under the shade of her hood, Sakura started to walk off in the direction they had been heading yesterday when they finally sat down to prop the tent. There had only been one truly bad sandstorm that Gaara diverted around them, but they had to cover up when they slept for fear of being buried in their sleep by passing storms. Sometimes this meant they pitched tents, somethings they just propped up the tarp and huddled in.

After so many days of travel it was hard to remember what happened more.

"The ruins should be coming up soon, I'm sure of it this time," Sasori whispered into her ear after glancing sideways to see if Gaara was looking away and would miss the contact.

"You've not proved yourself the most reliable guide, Sasori." Sakura grinned out of the side of her mouth, glad that she was able to interact with this actor so normally. He still gave her butterflies, but she was able to keep them down for the most part. She was able to keep what was important in mind.

"I'm terrible, I'll admit, but you can't blame me for being distracted."

"Your cousin is right, you're horrible." But she didn't sound like she meant her words and they somehow made him smile all the more for it. Sakura tried her best to look away, to avoid his eyes and not make that contact, but she could feel him watching her, begging her to turn her eyes back on him and it was too quick a sin to worry about when she glanced backwards over her shoulder at him. His grin was rakish and she was as good as doomed.

"The Temple of the Maker of the Earth is where we need to go, but it's one of the oldest temples, no written record exists on it's location. How did you know about it, Sasori?" Gaara asked, pausing until Sasori and Sakura were level with him as they traversed the sandy desert. Every so often the grains under her feet would move her forward like on a horizontal escalator, but when she looked up to thank Gaara he was adamant about avoiding her eyes for the next good hour at least.

"How else did I ever make anything out of myself without a cushy throne to plant my ass in?" Sasori all but sneered, hiking his shoulders alongside Sakura, keeping his body in the center and blocking her from view.

"You are too old to be asking such questions."

"And you are too dense to be answering such questions." Sasori huffed loud. "What the desert takes, the desert will provide. Sunken cities in sand are found all the time by the right sort of people."

"Thieves and criminals."

"At least I'm king of my own people and not a nation stitched together from so many different hearts of disrespect. What a sad lot your god kings face."

"As if you would know."

Sasori hummed with a new swagger to his step as he increased his pace to pull forward ahead of Gaara and Sakura. "I only know that if I were so blessed with a curse like godhood I'd rid myself of it as soon as possible. It's not man's place to shape the heavens."

"When you were younger you thought much differently. I remember different words coming out of your mouth." Gaara smirked like a kid catching an adult in a lie. "To live forever is the only true expression of art imaginable, correct?"

Sasori glared with a bit less maturity in the set of his shoulders, moving them in agitation as he attempted to regain composure in front of Sakura. "We are not gods, we are not capable of perfection. True art, true knowledge, and true immortal life are not things for our mere hands to grasp. That should be left to the gods. We are born of dust To dust we should return."

"Is that why you didn't want to go with Deidara to hunt down the…the…?" Sakura waved her hand in the air as she fumbled in her mind with a word she could use to describe herself without giving her true identity away. Sasori still didn't know that she was like Gaara and had the mark from killing one of the bastard gods. With wide eyes she looked to Gaara, hoping he would have a word or name she could use.

"The girl god killer?" Sasori asked, interrupting her concentration on Gaara. He slowed his steps to fall back between her and the redhead.

"Yes, her. She was supposed to be in the palace but you never went with Deidara when he went of looking for that woman-er girl. You weren't worried for your friend?"

"Deidara? He can take care of himself." The suggestion almost made him laugh. "He wants to chase the ass of some power hungry wretch I'll not be the one to stop him. I have no interest in wasting my time on such people when there are far more interesting individuals."

" _Sasori_." Gaara's growl was a warning.

Sakura paused to climb over a stone in the sand and readjusted herself on the shifting ground. There were ruins under the sands that poked up every so often. The stones were becoming more and more frequent the further they advanced. She could see that soon there would be obelisks and towers perturbing out of the sand swells. Far off there was even what looked like a dome or roof of some kind. Egyptians weren't known for their domes though.

"These ruins, you said they were old, but you didn't mention who left them," Sakura breathed, glancing back at Gaara and Sasori. Her statement was as much for the one as the other.

"It's not the Temple of the Maker of the Earth, but this is one of the sister locations that we believed to have been built by the same people. It's structure is one we have not been able to duplicate," Gaara answered for her. "We are close."

Did that mean they were close to where Sai would be? It wasn't fair that she had worked so hard to bring him back and he was gone from her again. He was worse than a damsel in distress.

"Doesn't mean we're safe," Sasori added, pulling up the front of his head scarf over his mouth and nose. His eyes found Sakura's and sparkled in the way they would whenever he smiled. She could only guess that behind the fabric he was grinning at her. "Stay sharp."

"Get behind us, Sakura," Gaara murmured.

Sakura wrested with her pride before remembering the fact that Sasori only knew her as a historian from a far off land who was in it to save a friend. He didn't know she was a skilled fighter, and she didn't know if she wanted him to. If she had to she would fight, but apart from that, she would bite back her pride and let her friends lead the way and carve the path.

They drew closer to the bulk of the ruins and Sakura was a bit shocked to see it actually was a dome that curved out of the main structure. It was now on it's side and the dome was one third buried in sand and broken in parts like the holes in a taunt sail, but it was a dome none the less. No wonder they spoke of these places like they were holy sights. These ruins certinally came from another group of people.

"What do your stories tell you of this place?" Sakura asked in a hushed whisper, pulling her own hood down and scarf up. The air was cooler and thinner her, feeling dark in her lungs.

"Fairy tales are as outlandish as you would suspect," Gaara said.

Sasori glared over his shoulder before slowing once more. "The Temples were made from a people who fell from the sky. The came down in the body of their gods and in great agony their god gave up his or her, there is no conformed gender or sex to these gods, form to make earth out of the husk of this world's pit."

Sasori removed a peach from his robes and bit into it, deep and hard, holding his scarf back to show off how the juice dribbled down. He took another bite and swallowed before turning it around to show off the peach's pit.

"The old people did not believe in Set or Ra or Horus. They had no name for Isis or Nut or Osiris. Their gods were the first to touch this pit of a place and make it into desert and sea and green land. The body of their parent god was used to make the trees and rocky places. It's body melted into the oceans and gave us marine life. The children crafted all else after that."

"You only tell the sweet versions of the story," Gaara complained.

"The people who built this temple only believed the sweet version." Sasori took another bite from his peach.

"What's the other version?" Sakura asked, looking to Gaara.

Sakura has the feeling in her gut that Gaara wouldn't have opened his mouth and answered her if he had been any other person. But, she was a dreamer and he was one who had once dreamed, so he answered her as best he could.

"The sky is ruled by gods, both terrifying and unknowable. It is with great gladness that the stars are beyond our reach. In the days before form it was a war between gods and their hunger that augured with thundering authority the birth of our new world."

From behind Gaara Sasori made a dismissive sound and walked on ahead. Gaara ignored his cousin without trouble, focusing on schooling his voice into one that would make any storyteller proud.

"The stories say a monstrous being beyond comprehension died with her brood under the heel of it's coven brethren, plummeting to earth with lesser gods, in it's belly. Bastard born, these new gods slithered free from the carcass of their life giver and writhed across the globe, sinking into depressions of their own makings. In the air of the own melancholy, formed by their own expansive cognition, they were corralled, hunted, and worshiped in many different ages. These are the gods that grant god marks like the one on my back."

"It's not just a story then…" Sakura breathed, putting the pieces together in her mind.

Gaara shook his head.

Sakura stopped in her tracks, staring up at the looming dome ahead of her. "What waits in the Temple of the Maker of the Earth?" she asked with bated breath.

"He has many names."

" _What_ , Gaara?" She stressed her question, feeling something pull in her gut.

"He is the gate of all the bastard gods, the knowing and guardian of space and decay. The gate of past, present, future, are all in him and he knows where the old paths scar our world, who walks them, and who will walk them, and who has always walked them. Of all the bastard gods, he is the least likely to be killed in his knowing. He knows where the oldest of the old have tread our humble fields, and why no one may be able to behold the sight of those who walk with such authority."

As if his words were not omen enough, the shredding cry of beasts crawling over stone and through sand from the ruins ahead of them made Sakura tense. Up ahead she saw Sasori crouch at the ready as a wall broke apart and revealed a mutated looking amalgamation of scorpion and lion.

Gaara's sand went up first and the battle began.

* * *

" _To live in fantasy is to break your heart."_

 _-milktea-chan_

* * *

AN:/If you can, please leave me a _**review**_ to let me know you're still on board with the story and still find it interesting. I love to hear back from you and know my work is reaching people. Thank you!

* * *

Side Note: I also have a A03 account where I'll begin to start uploading stuff *coughsmutcough* (I'm super lazy) that usually shows up on my tumblr... my A03 handle is Vesperchan and of course my tumblr id is vesperlionheart in case you wanted to know.


	14. Chapter 14

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

"If I sit still and don't do anything, the world goes on beating like a slack drum, without meaning.  
We must keep moving, working, making dreams to run toward; the [poverty] of life without dreams is too horrible to imagine: it is that kind of madness which is the worst: the kind that fancies and hallucinations would be a bosch-ish relief."  
-Sylvia Plath,  
February 25, 1956 The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

* * *

Sakura stopped in her tracks, staring up at the looming dome ahead of her. "What waits in the Temple of the Maker of the Earth?" she asked with bated breath.

"He has many names."

" _What_ , Gaara?" She stressed her question, feeling something pull in her gut.

"He is the gate of all the bastard gods, the knowing and guardian of space and decay. The gate of past, present, future, are all in him and he knows where the old paths scar our world, who walks them, and who will walk them, and who has always walked them. Of all the bastard gods, he is the least likely to be killed in his knowing. He knows where the oldest of the old have tread our humble fields, and why no one may be able to behold the sight of those who walk with such authority."

As if his words were not omen enough, the shredding cry of beasts crawling over stone and through sand from the ruins ahead of them made Sakura tense. Up ahead she saw Sasori crouch at the ready as a wall broke apart and revealed a mutated looking amalgamation of scorpion and lion.

Gaara's sand went up first and the battle began.

* * *

Sakura wiped the blood off the end of her dress, staining it further. Chimera blood was black and blue, but it was a mess of gray and navy stains in the white cotton of her clothing. Gaara stood a handful of feet away, shoulders hiked sheepishly as he looked on. His own clothing was pristine and free of stains. Sakura hadn't even lifted a finger while Gaara ripped the monsters apart with his sand storm, but she was the one that ended up looking a mess.

"What a lovely shade of blue for your deft skin, my dear," Sasori purred, making his way over, cresting the dune and sliding the rest of the way down. Unlike his cousin, Sasori was rich in still soaking stains. Gaara had seemed to almost make it a point to hit his cousin with Chimera blood. Still, Sasori didn't seem too off put by it.

With grace and ease, the older redhead approached Sakura and dragged one of his thumbs through the blood on his cloak. With his thumb stained a darker shade of blue, he dragged it over Sakura's cheek, following the path to her collarbone. Sakura groaned at his touch but he chuckled and told her to hold still while he painted the other half of her face. When she thought he was done he took a third finger full of blue paint to her chin and dragged it from lip to throat in a long, straight line.

"Happy?" Sakura asked in a dry tone.

Sasori hummed in appreciation. "Now you look wild."

"I suppose you think that will make me useful next time we are attacked by monsters?" Sakura asked.

"Not nearly. We brought that one along for the monsters, didn't we?" Sasori asked, pointing to Gaara. "You're here to make me interested in living again."

"That all?"

"I wouldn't mind anything extra."

Gaara finally took a step forward, no longer concerned about staying humble in Sakura's presence. "That's enough, Sasori."

The older redhead sneered down at his cousin in a teasing way before holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Of course my king. It is as you say."

Sakura reached to wipe off the blood from her face, but paused before she could smear anything. It still tingled where Sasori had touched her. It was a nice sort of tingle.

"This blood isn't bad for your skin, is it?" Sakura asked, suddenly worried that the tingling was acid eating at her flesh.

Sasori laughed and smeared more blood around on his face before dragging his nails through it and shaking the blood free. "Not at all. If anything it should be a sooth for the skin. Keep it, the blood will protect you from the sun."

"She doesn't need that," Gaara muttered, cresting his sand like a wave over them to put Sakura in the shade.

"You'll get tired that way. Stop showing off every chance you get," Sasori responded, tone less light and jovial than before.

Sakura stared at Sasori covered in blood, wondering how he could be so smooth and at peace around her. He had been a little bit like this in the first kingdom, when she knew him as a greaser, but it was as the records stated, each actor was born anew for each world Sakura dreamed herself into. Just like Itachi was different in each world, so was Sasori. At least he didn't hate her in this one. The anger he had towards her in the Kingdom of Beasts nearly made her want to never see him again.

'But that's not true,' a voice spoke in her ear. 'Don't you remember at the end, when you touched his human heart?'

Sakura thought back to the last day in the Kingdom of Beasts, ignoring the gore and horror to focus on a detail she nearly forgot. Sasori had changed towards the end. When she touched the canister with his still human heart he seemed to melt for her. He had been almost kind in that moment. At the very least he didn't hate her.

"Sakura?"

She looked up, hearing Gaara call to her. Both boys were looking at her with differing amounts of worry in their eyes.

"I'm just thinking, don't mind me," Sakura chuckled, waving a hand in front of her face. "Are you both ready to move on? We have some ground to cover before we make camp, don't we?"

"Sure," Sasori easily replied, walking backwards with his hands fisted over his hips. He jumped backwards up onto the crust of a dead monster body and spun on his heel. The exoskeleton of the scorpion body cracked under the pressure and he leapt off.

"If you need a rest…" Gaara began, watching her slowly.

"Do I really look that bad" Sakura huffed, rubbing at her eyes. "I didn't even do anything."

"What about in the other world, how are you faring there?" he asked her, coming up alongside her and sticking close. Sasori was far enough ahead that he likely wouldn't be able to hear them if they whispered.

Sakura thought about what it was like to wake up and shivered. The world was odd. She had no work no class, and people she didn't know bowed to her sometimes in the hallway. She was pampered on cushions and made to read for hours the journals of other dreamers, or recount the details of her past adventures to Juugo. He had finished writing nearly everything down by now, thought Sakura purposefully left out parts where she and Madara were close. It felt odd to confess to her friend, a friend who had feelings for her, that she had nearly had sex with a dead actor in her dream world.

'Almost.'

It made her red just to think about how close she actually came. If her dreams weren't cursed worlds, would Sakura have dreamed about doing it with Madara? Her sexual health was abysmal considering the situation she was in. There was no way to pursue a relationship worth having with anyone while awake or asleep. She started to understand why so many of the dreamers in the past took quick lovers. Sakura couldn't make herself a wife to anything right now, few dreamers could.

"It's all so new and unsettling," Sakura finally admitted. "I miss how things used to be, but I know I wouldn't be doing as well as I am if those people didn't take me in and see to tending me. I mean…still sucks, but at least I don't need to worry about paying rent."

"And the assassins?" Gaara stressed, hands fisted at his sides.

"Nothing lately. I am trying not to think about it too much, if I'm being honest with you. I know there is stuff going on that I'm not being made aware of. Danzo is trying to protect me in his own way, I think. He doesn't want me to worry so he doesn't tell me about stuff."

They shuffled through the sand together, going around the fallen monster bodies while Sasori stepped up and over them all. He seemed fine with letting Sakura and Gaara talk together for a moment, but Sakura could see when he looked back at the pair every other minute, as if checking to make sure it was what she wanted.

Her heart hurt for him.

"You'll be safe here with me as long as I'm by your side, but don't forget that this world is only half the danger."

Sakura chuckled dryly. "No, I got that much. I know."

Gaara looked down at the sand, shifting and sparkling in a low sun's light as they traversed through another broken dune. "I wish I could be of more help."

Sakura caught herself on a laugh. "You're more helpful than you know, Gaara."

She shook her head and smiled as she thought back to other actors who hadn't been as kind. Gaara was terrifying in his own way, but Sakura felt there was a softness to him that was young and kind, but also hidden. She felt special to have found the kindness in him.

"I'm glad I have you on my side."

"I'll always be on your side," Gaara muttered, ears turning pink.

"Oh Sakura," Sasori teased, leaning over from the thorax of another fallen monster. "Don't tease the young king too terribly. He's as childish as they come when it comes to making a new friend." Sasori slid down and hopped over to Gaara, swinging an arm over the shorter boy's shoulders. "Isn't that right, dear cousin?"

Gaara growled, raising a sand wave behind him and bringing it down on the space where Sasori once stood. Sakura laughed as their teasing dance began again.

* * *

In the dream again Sakura sat with the boys beside a fire and stared up at an almost full moon.

"I feel like we've been walking forever," she confessed.

"Not nearly," Sasori laughed, passing a scrap of cooked food to her. She held out of hand to take it and he pulled it back out of reach, grin wicked and spreading. "You've not seen the ends of the desert as I have, you couldn't possibly think this is forever."

"It's long, okay?" Sakura asked, reaching forward to grab at the meat he kept out of reach.

Gaara glared across the fire but said nothing. He was tired, and while he didn't sleep, he did rest often. This looked like one of those times, since he would normally swallow his cousin in sand the first chance he got.

Sasori teased her until she got close enough to grab and slide down off the stone square into the sand beside him. He chucked, pulling her closer and waving the food again, only to press it to her lips and feed her. She grabbed it eagerly with her teeth and didn't miss the way he let his fingers linger a little longer than appropriate.

"Stop being gross," Sakura huffed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I'm no such thing. I've never been called gross by a woman in my entire life."

"Then you don't know enough women," Sakura retorted.

"Maybe I don't. Would you like to get to know me better?" he teased, scooting closer.

The desert around her at night was a cool thing, making the fire necessary. Sasori moving in close to her spread the warmth of his body to where she could feel it. He wasn't cold and dead. He was warm and alive.

"I think I know you well enough to know what you're after," Sakura played along, doing her best to keep her cool around this new version of her one time lover.

"You think you know me so well that you can dismiss me so easily. Don't you want to ask a question or two? I'm sure there is something you're curious about."

She turned her face to the tire and wiggled her bare feet into the sand, feeling them warmed by the heated grains. "Somehow I doubt you would be entirely honest with me if I asked you questions about your life. No thanks."

"I promise to be truthful."

"About anything?"

She turned her face only enough to see him. In the firelight his hair was just as brilliant as the crackling flames, and his eyes were glowing embers in the light. Lounging in the sand his shirt front had slipped open and the copper curves of his body teased her. He was beautiful.

"Ask anything you like, doll. If I don't want to answer I'll simply refuse, but I won't lie to you. I'm terribly curious to ask you about yourself but I know that would be impolite without first offering my own history."

Sakura felt like she had found the Waldo in an I Spy game. "You're just being snoopy."

Sasori adjusted himself in the sand to recline more comfortably. "I am a snoop, but I also want you to know about me. I don't like how curious you're not. I thought you would be more…interested in me."

Sakura laughed, finding a bug in the sand she could pick up and trow away. "Now that's you ego talking. If we keep going I'm afraid how low my opinion of you can go. You're snoopy and full of yourself."

"And I'm desperate for the prettiest girl to talk to me. I'll admit these faults freely."

Sakura rolled her eyes, secretly enjoying the banter and the wit between them. He didn't know how much she wanted to cave in and hear all his stories and share a few of her own, but she had to remember this Sasori was a version she had just met a few weeks ago. Yes, they had been fighting and traveling together for a long time now, but the same was true for Gaara.

"Fine. Tonight you can ask me one question," she finally admitted. "Then I'll ask you a question, but you have to come up with something first because I'm too tired to think that well."

"That's perfectly acceptable. Let me start with something you might be more comfortable with answering. How did you get into my cousin's good graces? Women have been killing themselves for years to be half as close and dear to him as you are, so what was your secret?"

Of course his question would be one she couldn't easily answer without sharing her secret. Sakura decided she would shrug through the question and answer what she could of it.

"Get arrested? I mean, that's how we first met. I was with my friend and we were…we were looking at some things we shouldn't have been and I didn't know this but the place was forbidden and I was taken in chains to be judged. I actually met his brother in prison first and he was nice."

Sakura tried to think back to how it had all happened so long ago. She had been in this dream so long now it was starting to become difficult to remember all the parts and pieces.

"That can't be it."

"Hush, I'm trying to remember. Someone tried to assassinate him I think. I don't know how that really went down, but there was a bustle and Gaara was really cool, he used his sand to catch the guy. At the time I was more interested in running to greet my friend, Sai, who I had been separated from. Turns out Sai was friendly with Gaara and that's how I first met Gaara."

"This Sai characters…does he separate from you often?"

"Often enough." Sakura looked over and glared. "But that's a different question and you only were supposed to ask one."

"You can't be mad at me. You never really answered my question, which was how you got into Gaara's good graces. There are plenty of women who are friends of friends. I'm not satisfied with your answer."

Sakura huffed, grabbing a fist full of sand and throwing it at the redhead playfully. He rolled out of the way and batted her off, smiling at her playfulness.

"Don't be a moron and ask a question I couldn't answer. The only person who could tell you what you want to know would be Gaara himself, so ask him next time."

"He's not nearly as fun to talk with."

"Then if it's your turn, tell me why you and Gaara don't get along if you're cousins."

His eyes seemed to sparkle like the crackling embers at the base of the fire. "That's the easiest thing you could think of? Obviously he's jealous of my luck with women. Also, there is the matter that I was raised in the tomb keeper side of the family, only to escape at a young age and join up with bandits. He loved that. Never mind the bandits of the sand were just as cruel and I soon learned to make my own way in the world."

"Tomb keeper?" Sakura echoed.

"The families who are tasked with protecting the tombs of the latest resting pharaoh from within," Sasori explained, finding another bug in the sand that he tossed into the fire. He smirked when it burst into a tiny flame that hissed and popped before looking up at her. "Terribly popular profess. People are just _dying_ to get into it."

She snorted, sitting up on her knees and hobbling over to where her bed roll had been set in the sand, closer to where Gaara rested. She pulled it open and saw the young pharaoh open a single eye to watch her before closing it again. "I'm going to sleep. Ask me whatever you want int he morning," she said with a yawn.

"That's it for the night?" he asked.

"There will be other nights," Sakura said, sounding tired.

And she was right. There were plenty other nights as one day in the desert turned into a handful more.

* * *

In the waking world Sakura saw herself in the mirror and hated the shape of herself. She was wrong in too many places. While she was in the dream world she could make her skin peachy and smooth with color. She could erase the bags, she could fill in her hips like before and smooth down the points where bones started to peek through.

Sakura touched her hips and frowned with how thin they were. Her ribs too. She saw the signs in her reflection but didn't know what to do about them. She was eating, when she could. Why did she look so much like a ghost?

"Are you decent?" a voice called through the door.

Sakura frowned and reached for the spring dress she could throw over her head and shimmy into. "Do you care?" Sakura called back, knowing Genma would laugh.

She heard the chuckle through the door and crossed the bathroom to open it up to him. Behind him Juugo was glaring from his spot at the desk. Her file was loaded and he was transcribing another part from the Gladiator Boneyard. He was nearly caught up. Soon he would be able to take her oral interviews about the Kingdom of Gods and put them to paper. She needed to thank him.

"He's being an ass again," Juugo grumbled.

"It's what I'm best at," Genma cackled, unusually jovial. "Guess who just got laid?"

Sakura made a face in disgust. "Ugh, why are you telling me."

"No, not me! I didn't say-ugh, I said guess. You have a dirty mind, Sakura babe."

"What do you expect after I hang out with you and have it filled with garbage?"

Genma rolled his eyes and stepped to the side to let her out. "No, I'm talking about Vermillion Houses. Netflix uploaded season two finally and my boy got it going on with the princess!"

Sakura couldn't help but grin. "Oh no, that's going to go terrible. Isn't her royal guard in love with her. If he found out he would kill the poet."

"You don't think he would bear it, knowing his princess is happy?"

Sakura thought about it, remembering what she knew of the characters from the period drama. Her guard was insanely devoted and hopelessly in love with a woman he had taken religious vows to protect in chastity and life. Throughout season one he had been Sakura's favorite character on account of how cute his love for the princess was. When she flirted with him he didn't know what to do with himself, but he never acted on those flirtations. He never even admitted to himself that he loved her.

"I don't think he would see it that way. I think there's going to be blood. And besides that, the poet? Everyone of her guards thinks he's a lush. They're going to think she's being taken advantage of and seduced."

Genma groaned, falling into step beside her. "Can't they tell she's lonely and struggling with a healthy sexual attraction. Girl needs to get some and they're putting her in a chastity belt. And what is with that tone, young lady? How dare you disrespect my precious son. Just because he's a slut doesn't mean he can't love."

"I feel so dirty just listening to you," Juugo groaned, glaring back over his shoulder at the older male.

Genma just grinned back in turn and wiggled his fingers. "Glad I could help make things more interesting around here. Sakura deserves a bit more vibrancy and joy. The rest of you lot are way too serious. It makes me want to don my mourning robes and throw salt over my shoulder."

"Why would you do that?" Juugo asked, expression aghast.

"Isn't that what you guys do when someone dies? No? Wrong culture. My bad!" He laughed and it sounded like a small dog snickering, a fact that made Sakura cough on a laugh herself. "There it is! I was wondering where you laugh went to. I haven't heard it in weeks."

Sakura ran a hand over her face and thanked the heavens that she was friends with an idiot like Genma. Genma the man slut who had also killed for her and could still smile and laugh at the world. He was strong and she felt silly for not realizing it sooner.

"Thanks, I feel lighter. Make me something to eat. I want something with bread."

She didn't notice it right away, but from where Juugo sat he had paused to smile at her, no longer irritated with Genma like before. He turned back to the computer with a happy sigh and continued to type.

"I can make pretzel, but can you tell me why you think her puppy dog guard boy is going to go blood hungry once he finds out someone made his princess happy with a quicky in the gardens?"

Sakura snickered at his language and shook her head. "Some loves are like that. Humans love selfishly."

* * *

The next night when Sakura dreamed she awoke on a floor of stone, cushioned by their traveling blankets. Sasori was beside her, separated by a small circle of stones that kept their fire from spreading.

She felt _off_.

"Did you feel that?" Gaara asked, wide awake and fully dressed.

Sakura turned around and climbed up to her feet, feeling the creaks of her dream body settle into place. "No, I just woke up. What's happening?" she asked.

Gaara swallowed and nodded to the entrance to the small, stone shrine ruins they had rested in. "I think we were closer than we first thought. There is something shifting beneath us."

"Another chimera?" Sakura asked, touching her face where the pain used to be. It was gone, of course.

Gaara shook his head, arms crossed stiffly over his chest. "No. It's far too large for that. I only know of one type of creature to swim through the world with such girth. We can't be many miles away from his temple."

Sakura brushed the dust off her knees and walked over to the edge of their ruins to look out. Even in the darkness there was a thick silver sheen to everything touched by moonlight. Sakura could see for miles but there were only ruins and broken histories in stone for as far as she could see. If they were close she should have been able to see it.

"This is the temple where you think they took Sai, right?" she asked, looking back over her shoulder at Gaara who was walking over to stand alongside her, leaving Sasori back further in.

"Most likely. I would imagine that if Sai was made to talk he would tell them of this temple. Do you think he would be stubborn for you and refuse to talk under torture?" he asked.

The thought made Sakura unsettled and the tingle in her hands was sharp, reminding her of the bone sword she wasn't holding. "He knows I'd kill them for it, but Sai's also smart. He…he believes in me. He might have held off for a bit, but I know he told them eventually because he believed I would find him and catch up with the kidnappers. More than anyone else, I know Sai believes in me. We've been through so much for him not to."

"You care for him quite deeply."

Sakura felt herself grin. "He hasn't given me much of a choice. What could I have possibly done with a person who believed in me as much as him other than devote myself to achieving all he thought I could." She paused a moment and made a face. "Also, there was the fact that I thought the world was trying to kill me every night. I didn't have much of a choice after I got sucked in, but aside from all that, Sai's belief in me was life changing."

"Even more so than falling in love?" Gaara asked, voice low as he watched her from the corner of his eye. Behind him Sasori slept on.

Sakura looked back over her shoulder at the last member of their party still asleep on the floor. He was always handsome, but asleep he was especially beautiful to stare at. She had to be careful not to stare too long or linger too deeply on his face while he was unaware. It hurt her heart too much.

"Falling in love is a different sort of matter. It gave me a different sort of strength, one that ended up exhausting me while pushing me to achieve the seemingly impossible. It's…different, not bad, just different."

Gaara hummed. "It almost sounds like you regret it."

"Isn't that why they call it falling in love? You can't help yourself when you fall."

"True." He watched her before turning his face back to the desert. "I almost want to wish you luck with your love, but I have my own feelings to consider and it's especially difficult to wish for something when the other half of you realizes that the object of your affections is so poorly undeserving." He shifted nervously before adding on. "And there is the matter of how I've come to feel for you, Sakura."

Sakura knew, but she nodded and waited for Gaara to say his peace and be honest. She knew what he wanted to say. She knew what he most likely felt and she thought him brave for confessing what he held in his heart.

When Gaara saw her watching him with attention undivided he swallowed and turned to face her head on. Even in the silver light she could see his face warm.

"I know your heart, but I want you to know mine," he said, voice soft. "I would have cared for you whoever you are, because I find companionship in so few people, yet you've made it here to me. No matter who you would have been I would have wanted to be your friend, even if we ended up killing each other. But I know you better, I see your heart and I am moved by your convictions. You are the sunlight in the tomb, after an eternity of darkness you are the balm to my soul. I never dreamed to know a dreamer so lovely and worthy of love. I understand what Sai sees in you, I understand why a man would believe in you. You care so well and the power of the heavens doesn't tempt you while the affections of a friend would inspire you to move mountains beyond heaven and earth. When you were hurt I thought the world stopped. It's not fair I knew you too late."

"Gaara…." She said, stepping closer only to stop when he shook his head.

"It's not fair I finally got to know what love felt like after all this time." He breathed deeply, smiling. When he exhaled the breath came out shaky and uneven, causing his grin to grow even as his eyes glistened. In the moonlight they were silver jade. "I love you Sakura."

She sees that Gaara is beautiful in his own way, soft and vulnerable for her in body and feelings. She reaches for him and he bows into the touch, knowing it is not the reciprocal embrace he wanted, but one he would never the less desire. He folded into her arms like he was meant for them and Sakura kiss the crown of his head, resting her lips in his copper curls for a moment longer than usual before pulling back.

"You are dear to me," she says, voice heavy.

He shivers in her arms and leans further in. "I don't ask for anything more, just don't go where I can't follow you."

"You've said that once before. I don't plan on leaving you behind," Sakura laughs, resting her cheek against his ear. He's bent into her, holding her close.

"Even though you're a dreamer-"

Gaara started to say only to have his words interrupted as the stone beneath them rubbled and sagged, tilting downwards in parts as a great mass moved out from underneath it.

Sakura grabbed Gaara and threw him backwards into the ruins where the ground was more stable. Sasori was already up and reaching for the space where he thought she would be when Gaara slid in. Sakura felt the stone under her fall away as she jumped, hands clawing at the edges of solid ground. Her nails strained and broke as her grip slipped and she spilled free over the side on a scream.

Someone else shouted and a hand of sand reached down to grab her around the torso and snap her back. Sakura felt a pain behind her head where her neck had whipped, but the whiplash was less dangerous than the swirling ground beneath her. She looked up and saw Gaara staring down at her over the edge of their ruin.

"You got me," she laughed, flashing him a thumb's up. Gaara only huffed in agitation before pulling her up and grabbing for her with his own two hands to drag her the rest of the way onto solid ground.

"Don't scare me like that," he hissed.

"Shit!" Sasori almost sounded delighted as his voice shook in fear. "We were closer than I thought."

Sakura looked down at the mass sinking back into the earth, tunneling again. She felt cold in her heart when she recognized the slithering arms and tentacles of a bastard god. It wasn't the same as the crawling chaos, but it was related beyond a shadow of doubt. One highlighted difference was the huge eyelid on its back that was filed with a hundred or so tiny eyeballs, all crammed in there together like fish eggs or pomegranate seeds at the pit of a fruit. All the different eyes were looking off with different colors and sizes.

"The Key and the Gate, he is the one who sees," Gaara breathed, watching as it slipped back under the earth and out of view. "We are close."

"That's not all," Sasori said. "Did you see the wounds on it?"

"What?" Sakura gasped, looking back at the older redhead. "It was hurt?"

He smiled at her and she thought the look was a bit more pained than usual. "Were you too distracted by it's beauty or that infection of eyes on his back? That's how he is able to see into the future, they say. He's the one who sees all and knows all, so I'm surprised someone could nick him."

"Sasuke and Sai," Sakura breathed, looking over at Gaara. "They made it here."

"At least we know the brat prince didn't get a pretty new tattoo for himself," Sasori sighed. "But I doubt this god killed them if it's still running around the desert looking for them. How much you want to bet that brat prince is hiding out in a ruin just like this one?"

Sakura felt her skin tingle. "Sai could be close by," she breathed, looking over at Gaara, eyes wide.

"We don't know that, we still have to be careful going forward. The god is restless and dangerous."

Sasori watched the two of them, taking a half step back and frowning before turning his face away. "Right, I have business with that Kazekage anyway. We'll be looking for the party together for a little longer. Dawn is soon, shall we set out?"

Gaara nodded before looking to Sakura. "Let me go out and scout first. I'll be back in a few minutes."

The sand rushed up and swallowed him in a fist that carried him off, high into the desert where he could see the world from a bird's point of view. Sakura held her arms to herself and bit her lip, prepared to wait until he came back to move, even though all she wanted to do was run through the desert shouting Sai's name.

"He'll be back soon," Sasori breathed, taking that half step back towards her. He paused, as if thinking better of it before turning his face away.

"Is something wrong?" Sakura asked, looking back at Sasori and noticing his lack of personality. This world's Sasori was a bit more flirty and smooth, enjoying the simple act of teasing his cousin and making her blush. Sasori seemed more demure now that Gaara had left.

The redhead looked back at her and Sakura saw his frown. "You have someone you love?"

Her heart hurt.

"Why would you ask that?" Sakura breathed, mouth dry.

"I wasn't asleep for all of it," he chuckled, voice deep and more detached. "Ah, but don't think I heard it all. Trust me, I was straining at times, especially when you never mentioned a name. My poor baby cousin, I never thought I'd hear him so heartbroken, but he endured it so gladly."

Sasori dropped his hands to his sides and crossed the distance between them, drawing up close enough that the fabric of his outfit rustled hers. "How did you manage to make him love you so well? What magic did you sow in his heart only to spurn him?" He lifted a hand to her face and she felt it shake when it touched her skin. "And when did you infect me with it, dreaded woman?"

"Sasori, I-" Her voice stopped when he laughed, dropping his hand and backing up.

"Oh how delightful. No, don't think I was serious just now," he laughed. "I've not know you enough or so long for a plague like love to take me. I only wished to tease you, Sakura. Don't think I'm like my cousin."

Sakura felt like her heart was bleeding. "Don't mock Gaara for what he feels. He is brave for it."

"I'm sure he is. Bravery lives in the heart of many fools. But he is the king of sands and pharaoh of an unruly people. He's not loved by anyone."

"Don't say that. There is more than just romantic love in this world. I may not…return the feelings he has for me, but I care for Gaara and wish to help him as a friend or family would."

"I'm his family and I have no such wish for him," Sasori said.

"I'm sorry for that. I may not have known him long, but I understand him enough to know that he's a good person with a lot of hurt inside of him."

Sasori actually laughed at her, louder and deeper than before. Sakura wanted to delight in the sound, but it just ended up making her skin crawl. Sasori was…off.

"Oh, he's really done it now, gone and fallen for a pure hearted maiden that couldn't possible love so selfishly." He smiled and it was rakish and in a moment he was the greaser in leather she knew and loved.

"I've loved selfishly," Sakura whispered. She wished she could say it louder, she wished you could tell him who he was to her. She wished she could hold his face and kiss his warm lips and forget how, once upon a time, she kissed them cold. She wished so badly it was no wonder her heart knew the feeling of hurt so well.

"Yes, that's what he said, didn't he?" Sasori tilted his head to the side and stepped that way, seeing her from a new angle. The moon was still bright and silver in the sky, but dawn wasn't far off. "But I've seen you blush for me, so how great must that guy be? He's not even here. He's not the boy the brat prince stole away, was it?"

"No. That man has long left this world. Sai is also my friend, but nothing romantic. Is that so hard for you to understand? I care for my friends. They're important to me. I won't abandon them when they need help."

Something on Sasori's face melted and his grin lost its hard edges. "You are a sweet thing, aren't you? Still in love with your dead lover is something only foolish girls are capable of. I think I can see why my cousin came to adore you so. But the world is not king to sweet things, my doll. You'll either loose that kindness or loose your life before long."

"I don't believe that," Sakura said with more convection that she though possible.

She thought of all the horrors, the trials, the blood, the loss, the humiliation, the betrayals. She thought of Tenten stabbing her in the back, the chains of slavery, the death of her friends, having to kill Sai, Kimimoro turning his back on her in the Kingdom of Beasts after believing in her just one world before. She thought of so many horrible things in her real life that dragged her down into a pit of darkness and depression. She thought of how the Obelisk work had wrecked her.

But then she thought of Sai and Gaara. She thought of Kisame and Zabuza teaching her how to fight with the sword. She thought of Tsunade. She through of Tenten at the end, of how Kiba remembered her even when words were lost to his mind. She thought of the warmth that filled her whenever someone believed in her and looked at her like she could do it. She even thought of Madara who valued her and was sweet to her in his own way. He treated her like a queen in a cage, but through that she knew she learned a lesson.

"You don't know what I've been through, what I've done. You don't know how…how this world has treated me. I am not kind because I am naive or stupid. I am what I am because I _choose_ to be. I wake up and I decide for myself who I'm going to be. _I_ choose it, not this world or anyone else in it." She felt her eyes harden as the fists at her side clenched tighter.

Sasori was caught by her, unable to move. "If you've seen the ugly underside of this world and still choose to be as sweet as you are, I don't see how you've made it this far."

"My kindness does not make me weak." Sakura felt herself realize the truth of her words as they were leaving her lips. "My kindness _is_ my strength."

He was still stuck in her gaze, unable to move until he did so unconsciously. He stepped to her, grabbed her by the waist and pulled her face towards his to fit into a kiss of lips on lips.

She felt herself pulled up and into him and when his lips settled on hers, warm and needy, she didn't fight back because he was alive this time. He wasn't dying under her in a pool of his own blood. He was warm and soft and tender on her lips and it made her heart dance in joy.

Oh! She felt like she was melting.

He pulled her closer to him, pressing her body to his and bending down into the kiss, hungry for more of her as she rose to meet him, just as responsive, just as hungry, and just as starved.

When the need for air made him break, Sasori rested his face against hers, panting in the almost morning light. It made her skin shiver in attention.

"I don't care who he is, he's not here to stop be," he growled before hissing her neck hungrily. "You're mine."

"Don't leave me again," Sakura shuddered, feeling tears in her eyes. He was warm for her, so warm and soft. She had longed for this for years now, since their first kiss. It didn't even matter that he was a new Sasori in a new world. He was finally warm and alive for her.

"I'm not going anywhere," he chuckled in a voice made of velvet.

"Sasori."

She breathed his name and he grunted, barely retrained in that moment. It was like his name on her lips was the magic spell that undid all his false bravado and brave mockery. Deep in his throat he growled, pulling her close and drawing her back into the darker parts of the ruin, turning her back so it was to the new sun.

He pulled away, only enough to hold her face in two hands and look down at her. His thumb traced the shape of her temple. Dawn's first light was making his skin glow and his eyes shine like new gems.

"Know this," Sasori whispered, staring down at her. One of his hands moved away from her face and she tilted her head to lay in the palm of the one left behind. He leaned down a little, but lifted his eyes to the sunlight of the world outside. "Your kindness was not enough."

Heat ripped into her back from a shallow wound. She heard Gaara scream and then the sound of wood on wood. Sakura stumbled into Sasori, knees weak.

"No another step, cousin, or this dagger finishes it," Sasori drawled, sounding suddenly bored.

Sakura turned her head as much as she could and strained her eyes the rest of the way. Sasori was there, eyes wide and livid as the Third Kazekage stood beside him, iron sand swirling. Sakura blinked, recognizing the lines and joints on the Kazekage. They were the same as Sasori's back in the Kingdom of Beasts: a puppet.

"It was you," she breathed, suddenly realizing the truth of things. The Third Kazekage had the third tattoo from killing a bastard god, but he was only a puppet. That meant…Sasori was the third god killer. "You were behind the attack."

He chuckled, and it sounded strained. "I hadn't meant to show my hand so early, but you were fast moving and…and I realized I had reached my limit. It wouldn't have been possible to play pretend past this point, cousin."

"Let her go." Gaara's voice was ice.

Sasori chuckled once more and reached down to kiss the crown of Sakura's head. "Her? She doesn't love you. Isn't that sad? You'll give me your god tattoo for her when she was so ready to give herself to me like any other common imp from the sands. I almost pity you."

"Don't do this," Gaara warns.

Sasori shakes his head, glaring. "Your days of telling me what to do are over, cousin. I'll admit I hadn't planned for this to happen so soon. I was hoping to have your help killing the last god, but I'm confident I can achieve that on my own with your powers. When I get back, Deidara will have that woman's tattoo for himself. It all plays out nicely, doesn't it?"

"Why are you doing this to her? Sakura hasn't done anything to you to deserve this." Gaara make a step but the iron sand rises up and he stills, outmatched and weary of it. "Just…let her go."

Sasori shifts, one hand still holding Sakura's head. "Maybe I will, or maybe I'll keep her for myself. I've heard of others doing the same, I'll not loose respect for one mere woman. I can allow myself that much." He glanced down at her, a sloppy smirk in place. "You were willing to run away with me a moment ago, weren't you? I don't know how you managed to tempt me this far, but I'll admit I didn't dislike it."

The pain in her heart hurt more than the dagger in her back. The blade was one she would survive, but Sasori's betrayal…

Her hands were weak as she reached up to hold his face, thumbs tracing the smooth of his skin as she looked up, eyes wet with tears that spilled over, on hand sliding down. He should have been watching Gaara but he was caught in her again. He was still so warm for her.

"I love you, Sasori," Sakura breathed, stilling him. "I loved you in the beginning, when you died under my hands, asking for a kiss as a final gift. I loved you when you hated me, then when you were weak for me. I loved you when you didn't know me. I love you now as you betray me." She swallowed, feeling her throat close up. "Yes, I love you, even now, but know this…"

He began to lean into her as she parted her lips.

"It was not enough."

Her hand on his neck became full with the hilt of her bone sword, tearing into the flesh of him.

In one moment he was warm and loving for her. In the next, his severed head rolled to the floor, followed soon by his limp body.

* * *

 **" _To live in fantasy is to break your heart."_**

 _-milktea-chan_

* * *

AN:/I am so sorry. That ending was not supposed to happen so soon in the story. Other stuff was supposed to happen first and I thought there would be a big fight with the god that he could help with and I HAD IT ALL PLANNED OUT AND THEN **THAT** HAPPENED. A good author is slave to their story and that's what happened with me. I know someone is going to be pissed with me, so just hang on. Before the summer ends I want to wrap up the writing of Obelisk, but I might run out of time again. I love this story so much, guys. It'll be worth it. Just bear with me a little longer.

If you can, please leave me a _**review**_ to let me know you're still on board with the story and still find it interesting. I love to hear back from you and know my work is reaching people. Thank you!

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Side Note: I also have a A03 account where I'll begin to start uploading stuff *coughsmutcough* (I'm super lazy) that usually shows up on my tumblr... my A03 handle is Vesperchan and of course my tumblr id is vesperlionheart in case you wanted to know.


	15. Chapter 15

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

 _I don't know how to stay tender_  
 _with this much blood in my mouth_

 _-Emma Tranter_  
 _excerpt from the heartless girls zine_

* * *

Recap: _The pain in her heart hurt more than the dagger in her back. The blade was one she would survive, but Sasori's betrayal…_

 _Her hands were weak as she reached up to hold his face, thumbs tracing the smooth of his skin as she looked up, eyes wet with tears that spilled over, on hand sliding down. He should have been watching Gaara but he was caught in her again. He was still so warm for her._

 _"I love you, Sasori," Sakura breathed, stilling him. "I loved you in the beginning, when you died under my hands, asking for a kiss as a final gift. I loved you when you hated me, then when you were weak for me. I loved you when you didn't know me. I love you now as you betray me." She swallowed, feeling her throat close up. "Yes, I love you, even now, but know this…"_

 _He began to lean into her as she parted her lips._

 _"It was not enough."_

 _Her hand on his neck became full with the hilt of her bone sword, tearing into the flesh of him._

 _In one moment he was warm and loving for her. In the next, his severed head rolled to the floor, followed soon by his limp body._

* * *

There was anger and then there was whatever Sakura felt. She felt hot with a holy sort of rage. The heat turned literal as she screamed, body shaking under the burn of a new tattoo taking over.

Sakura fell backwards as her throat blazed with gold and burning light. The markings ran out from under her jaw down to her collarbone in rays. She felt them stretch like ribbons of fire over her skin before the light dulled and they sat on her skin in black patterns.

Breathing came in a gasp as Gaara rushed to her side and pulled her towards him. She couldn't stop coughing or shaking as the tears came. She hadn't anticipated it to hit so hard, the world of the Obelisk had devastated her already so much, but Sakura was a mess of mourning.

"It's a curse, a curse," she chanted in hazy confusion, too tired to make sense of her own words.

"You're safe though, you're safe," Gaara whispered into her hair as he held her closer. Outside the world went on rumbling as more ruins fell under the shifting sands.

"It's not fair," Sakura whined. "It's not….fair."

"I know. It's not, it's not. You didn't deserve this," Gaara agreed, voice breaking as he tried his best to hold her in his arms while she continued to shake.

"It's not fair."

"I know. You're too good for this." He kissed her face, smearing the tears. "I'm so sorry."

"N-ng f-f-fair…"

It had always been Sasori for her. He had been the nexus of her universe when it came to feelings. She loved him, and that always came out ahead of other potential lovers. When Madara made her happy and treated her like a queen, when she took comfort in the sweet companionship of friends, it always came back to Sasori in her heart. Nothing fit quite like the love of the redhead.

It wasn't fair that she found something that good and that amazing so early on, only to lose it right away and spend years in a nightmare, chasing that same thrill while working towards her freedom from the Obelisk trials. It wasn't fair how Sasori had been so perfect with her in the very first world, only to stay out of reach for each world and gate until this one…where his whole role as an actor was to betray her.

"It was a part of the narrative," Sai's voice cut through.

She jerked at the feel of a new hand on her shoulder and sat up, eyes red and wide to see Sai standing there, smiling sadly and bleeding from a myriad of cuts across his face and arms. His hair was a mess and his clothing was as dirty as they came, but he was there in one piece after days of tracking.

"Sai?"

She hated how her voice wobbled.

He tossed the bloody saber onto the stone floor beside Sasori's dead bod and sighed, whole body deflating. "Yes. I'm sorry I'm so late in getting to you. This narrative has become increasingly aggressive the closer you draw to its nexus."

He waited while Sakura choked back the last of her tears and rushed to rub her face free of tear stains and dust smears. Her hands were shaking too badly and Gaara reached over to help with a cloth drawn out of his shirt front. He held her face still by her chin and wiped her eyes and cheeks before the rest of her.

Sai watched as the young pharaoh took to caring for Sakura. Sai had been away for long enough, but he had expected the other dead dreamer and his favorite dreamer to grow close, but this was closer than expected. Gaara treated Sakura like a glass bird.

'No wonder the narrative advanced so rapidly. If Gaara, an aware actor, was this attached to Sakura, than Sasori must have been even worse, even with the alterations to his personality,' Sai thought to himself, still watching.

"What did you mean when you said it's getting aggressive?" Gaara asked, pulling away from Sakura but not looking at anything but her.

"I think Baki was concerned you wouldn't actually try to progress through the world appropriately." Sai glanced sideways at Sasori's dead body. "Originally the script looked more like it would have Sasori leading you into an ambush where you would be trapped and defeated by Sasuke. But Sasori stopped communicating with the Dream Killer, making Sasuke agitated and Baki nervous. Sasori didn't do as he was scripted."

"He still tried to kill her," Gaara growled, hand reaching for Sakura's.

"I don't think he meant it though," Sai hummed.

He looked down at Sakura and frowned, seeing still so much hurt in her eyes. She was broken beyond belief but somehow she was still…her. She wasn't undone by her own hurt.

"Sasori changed because of you…the same way Zabuza changed because of you. Originally in _his_ script for the Kingdom of Beasts he was supposed to betray you and turn you over, but he deviated. That wasn't a big deal at the time, but Sasori's position was one of the leading roles in this world. His deviation was…unsettling."

"I never knew that about Zabuza," she admitted, thinking back to how he had done so much to help her. She had always thought of him as one of her biggest supports alongside Kisame. His voice kept her going when her form turned sloppy in the gladiator games. But, hadn't Kimimaro been scripted to betray her as well, or be her enemy from the beginning. He changed as well, maybe not for good, but for a little while he was changed.

Sai shrugged. "Neither did I until I became stuck in that dank one's lair. Baki didn't share much, but Sasuke did. The Dream Killer that possessed Sasuke liked to monologue. He revealed much."

"Was any of it useful?" Gaara asked.

Sai stared at Sakura, at the trails where tears were smeared across her face. "What is useful?" He knelt down in front of her so they were eye level. "He loved you. He wasn't supposed to, but he loved you enough to change. That scared them."

"He still was…it still wasn't enough." Her voice was a whisper.

"It was too much for this world."

Sakura felt her shoulders shake inwards again. "But he's dead. If not here…where else?"

No one said anything else for several minutes, eve as the stones around them shifted with the passage of the bastard god underneath. It was Gaara who broke the silence to point at Sai's bloody saber.

"Were you the one that hurt it?"

"It was a group effort. I just wanted to get away. Sasuke lost me after our base was interrupted. The god is looking for us now."

"It'll be here soon."

"I don't feel like fighting tonight," Sakura admitted, holding her shoulders. She stared up at Sai, pleading with a look. "Could we just pause it for a night?"

"We could try. Do you think that best?"

Sakura hated the answer that sat in her mouth, full of painful, truthful edges. When she was stagnate and didn't move bad things happened. When she lounged in the palace for days on end bad things happened. Baki was this world's weaver and he didn't like a passive heroine that wasn't much better than her reactions. Passivity would punish her, no doubt, but Sakura couldn't begin to imagine how much more hurt there was to endure after having to…

Sakura glanced sideways at her handiwork and it was sick how lovely he still was in death, decapitated.

She turned and retched into the corner, throwing up whatever was in her dreamer's belly. It wasn't much better than dry heaving as more and more guilt squeezed her insides out like icing in a piping bag. It wasn't pretty, but she didn't care. Her mind wasn't made for such horrors and her heart wasn't built for such wreckage.

Broken

Broken

Broken

"We're turning back," Gaara said, pinning Sakura's hair back behind her ears as she trembled over her vomit. He tugged on her shoulders and she fell back into her arms limply. "She's done well enough for one night's dream. She has a new god tattoo, that should be enough to placate the guide for this kingdom, no?"

"That might be worse than doing nothing."

"I am not so idle a force in this world, have you forgotten?" the redhead warned in a dark tone as he held Sakura closer. "I'll be ready to guard her should he try again. She's too tired to do much more."

"It's not just Sasuke and the Dream Killer you have to worry about," Sai said, moving to stand and walk around them. "The bastard gods are forces unto themselves that no guide or dreamer can anticipate, much less control."

"I've killed one before."

"I know."

Gaara glared up at Sai as Sakura head rolled onto his shoulder. "I'm not letting her get hurt any more than this. It's not fair. She doesn't deserve this sort of horror. Blood and war are to be expected, but this sort of dreaming is dirty."

 _Emotional sabotage_

Sai looked down at Sakura and saw her eyes mostly closed. He turned his back to the wall and knelt down alongside the pair, watching the still shadows on Sasori's body grow longer as more and more of the sun became visible over the dunes and ruins.

"Her weakness is her strength. Sakura, you've so very loved by almost everyone who meets you. It's your true weapon here in this dream world. Actors love you, more than just like you. I've seen it before, but your power is unique. You're drawn into the emotional side of the narrative while trained fighters and generals and child killers only saw the blood when they entered the trials."

Sakura glanced up at Gaara to see him glaring at Sai. She remembered the journals, and the conversations she had over each dreamer she and the others read about. The pattern was clear. Most sent into the dream were sent like soldiers to battle. Madara was a perfect example, he was a warrior through and through.

Looking at all the dreamers who endured the Obelisk trials was like a a game of 'one of these things is not like the other' with Sakura being the odd one out. She was everything the dreamer wasn't supposed to be. She was a girl, she was stressed, she was a secret, she was crazy, she was incapable of love, she was a delineate, she was a failure, she was parentless.

Even the things that gave her an advantage in the dream world, like her creativity and aptitude for gaming adventures, were things born out of a desire to stay sane in the real world and hide how messed up she really was.

She never should have touched the damn obelisk in the first place. It wasn't didn't know!

"I never asked for any of this."

Sai's expression was pained. "I know. It would be…insensitive of me to say that's why you're so perfect for this terrible dream, why you've come so far. You never wanted to be a god."

Sakura closed her eyes to the thought of it and ducked her head closer to Gaara's chest. She knew she was being unfair if she was sweet to him now, after he opened his heart enough to show her what was in it. But she hurt.

"I want to go back," she said again, grabbing at the front of his shirt to hold onto. "Please, just for now."

"I'll take you there," he promised.

Sai stood. "You can't. Sakura, it will be that much harder to go forward if you turn back now. Please, I know it's painful, but don't give up."

"Stop it," Gaara hissed. "Can't you see she's hurt and in pain? Don't force her to do any more than this. I'll take care of her, you don't need to tell her to fight any more."

The sand around them, caught in the cracks and hidden in the shadowed corners, started to rise and shift in response to Gaara's agitation. Sai didn't even blink as the move but his expression remained agitated.

"What have you been trying to do all this time, Sakura? I thought you said you were going to tear this world apart and do what no other dreamer has done before. You've come so far and endured so much. You can't turn back now, or else Sasori's sacrifice will have been for nothing."

Gaara's sand was a wave that pushed Sai back, picking him up off his feet and sending him tumbling over his ankles back further into the ruins. Sakura looked up in surprise from Gaara's arms, but he tugged her back.

"Don't listen to him," he whispered into her ear, pushing back a strand of hair that had fallen over her ear again. "Don't think you owe this wretched world anything anymore. You don't deserve this terrible fate. Come back with me and I will take care of you and you may rest. You'll heal from this and then when you're better you can return to the gods and their wars, but no one can hurt you now. Not Sasuke, not the gods, not Sai."

She looked up, expecting to see Madara, but it was Gaara who was staring down at her with eyes full of pain from having watched her too long. She had heard this tune before, she knew the words to it and everything. She knew what was right, she had made that terrible decision once before.

But could she make that decision again, after being broken down this much?

"Sakura," Sai called out to her, standing up and panting from where his wounds hurt-both the old and the new. "You know better."

"She doesn't need to."

"I believe in you, Sakura."

"Stop saying that! You're just using her because you want this world to end." Gaara's sand swirled in anger around them. "You don't care about her at all. You're heartless."

Sai pushed himself up to his full height and staggered. There was blood dried to the side of his head that flaked off from a battle not long passed. "I may be heartless. I am the Sigh of Dejection, after all. But I believe in her. I know Sakura will always do what she needs to. If that's to rest, then I'll follow her."

There were words unsaid that hung between them, words only Sakura could hear.

' _Sakura, I know you see it, I know you see what the right thing to do is. Be strong like I know you are.'_

"But I'm so tired of being strong."

"Shh," Gaara whispered into her hair. "You don't need to. You don't need to be anything but yourself."

"You are strong, even if you don't feel it right now."

It looked like Gaara and Sai might come to blows between them again, as Sai had picked up his saber and Gaara's sand swirled faster and higher behind him. If they did clash Sakura didn't know who she would have protected or gone with, if she would have really turned her back on the dream's dangers and hide in Gaara's palace, or pushed on like Sai knew she could.

That decision was taken from her.

The stone between her and Sai was split perfectly as a feather thin arm of black shot up from beneath it and then bent at an invisible angle to turn and reach for Sai. The boy ducked and tumbled out of the way, scurrying for Sakura and Gaara across the crack in the ruins.

"We're out of time, it found us!"

Sai cried out, grabbing for Sakura and tugging at her even though she was still in Gaara's arms. She started to pull out and follow Sai, but Gaara just went with her, sand rising protectively. They were an awkward unit of three, running through the slipping and sinking slabs of stone that crumbled after the hulking god moved underneath it.

"Where is it under us?" Gaara yelled, trying to find a safe place to run to. They were blind, unable to see where the all seeing god was hiding under stone and sand.

"Just run, it already knows where you will be, use your sand to shield us."

Sakura had enough mind about her to turn out of Gaara's hold and run on her own, dreaming up armor over her arms and chest as she ran. It came into being in patches along her body as she moved, her mind being too much of a mess to do things perfectly.

Sai raced forward and was a lithe as an alleycat over the upturned rocks in his way. He turned on the balls of his feet and reached out his hand for her to grab onto and pull herself up with. Another black arm reached up between them and Sai nearly lost his hand to it, but sacrificed his footing instead.

Sakura cried out his name as the arm turned and tried to come back for Sai who rolled across the floor, but Gaara's sand was a wall pushing it back.

They reached the edge of the temple ruins and Gaara made a road down to the desert floor out of sand that they fell onto and slid down together, haphazardly tangled in each other. Several arms came down crashing for them, each extension made out of black shadow and just as feather thin as the first. They cut up the ramp and Gaara was forced to push the three of them into an egg shaped ball that protected them as they fell straight down. It cracked open upon impact and Sakura rolled free.

The daw was bright and burning all around them and Sakura stood in it, glittering where her armor stopped in patches so rough they gleamed like raw geodes.

"You."

She turned and saw the brat prince Sasuke, propped up against a slap of stone. No. He wasn't propped, but pinned. A sword like Sai's was run through his chest, keeping him trapped there. Blood stained his lips and was dried on his chin. He looked pale and ready to fade away at a moment's notice.

"Dream killer," she breathed, summoning her bone sword. She took a step but stopped when he didn't react. His eyes were empty apart from anger and the heavy bags made him look sick. "No, it left you."

Sasuke managed a sarcastic grin. "Wouldn't you?"

There was a rumble and a burst as more of the black body swelled out of the stone ruins. It came out in a hulking mass of writhing arms as numerous as the hair's on a person's head. They were thin and wild. The rest of the creatures body was shaped like a pill bug's, with the enormous eye on it's back, wide and open to the world with a hoard of smaller eyes squeezed in between the lids. There was more than one mouth to it as the monster roared, flashing with veins of gold beneath the surface of it's black body.

It's voice rang out, deadly and deafening.

" **Who knows where the Old Ones broke through the folds of space and age? Who knows where? The Gate and the Key, is He who knows all these things. He knows where the bastard and the blessed have trod across earth's fields. I am the Gate and the Key, I am He who is the one who knows where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread**."

Sai recovered first and flickered forward with his sword high, cutting at one of the arms before it could catch him, severing it at the stump. There was a sound like air escaping but no blood as the creature turned towards Sai as if he were a fly and not a threat.

"Good luck with that thing. You'll be dead if you don't run," Sasuke coughed, glancing down. He seemed able to breath around the blade in his chest, but not easily.

"Is that what you tried to do?" Sakura asked, dreaming up the rest of her armor over her. She didn't know why she spoke to him. He had been sleazy with her before the spirit of the Dream Killer came over him and really turned him into a crazy terror. She didn't particularly like him.

Behind her Gaara summoned up a wall of sand stronger with the blood of the bodies that lay scattered around them, leftover from Sasuke's entourage. Blood made Gaara's sand thicker and heavier. He could do greater damage with the blood sand. He swiped with a fist of sand and the bastard god moved back, but screamed and did not retreat completely.

Sai was a ghost at its flanks.

"He said it would be easy if we came from where it couldn't see us, but it saw us everywhere. All my men are dead, the most loyal…I can't go back. There is no one to support me now."

"You're stabbed to a stone. I don't think the lack of support is what you should be worried about," Sakura chuckled dryly, hating herself for how she was cruel to a man suffering.

Boy.

He was a boy suffering with fat still on his face from a leftover youth not yet finished.

" _He_ meant to betray me all along."

"They do that." She could still taste Sasori on her lips and if she closed her eyes the wind was his kiss. She didn't close her eyes, she kept them open and narrowed. "You knew Sasori would betray me, didn't you?"

Sasuke looked up at her, glaring. "He was supposed to! He never handed you over though, and they said he turned on us to take Gaara's god mark." Sasuke sucked another shuddering breath into his lungs. "Did he do it?"

"Dead." Sakura almost choked on her words, but dreamed a mask up to cover her lips to hide the way they trembled. "I killed him."

Sasuke noticed the black tattoos stretching down her neck like the rays of a sun, each one tipped at the end in a hand design. He smirked at that. "Then at least he went out doing what he wished. He should have just stuck to the plan. I never took him for an idiot, but he truly was a fool."

'And I loved him, but that doesn't matter now.'

"Where did the others go, the spirit that took you over?" Sakura asked while raising up the point of her bone sword.

Sasuke gave her a look of boredom. "I don't know, obviously. They left me here like this, to die slow and painful over hours. If I knew I might have told you to spite them, but I don't and I'm too tired to care if you end me any faster."

Sakura believed him. He had nothing to lose and nothing to gain. He was ready for the end. His role was almost over. The script written for him had run out of lines.

She kneeled down in front of him and touched the palm of her hand to his chest and pushed the green light into his body. Sasuke shuddered at the feel of it, and gasped when she pulled the sword out of his chest with the other hand, her own bone sword standing up out of the ground. The whole in his chest would have killed him eventually, but Sakura found the edges of it and pulled it closed, knitting it back up little by little, piece by piece. He would still be sore and weak from the blood loss, but she wasn't going to address that separately.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke whined, voice pitched high and close to breaking. "Idiot, I'll kill you."

"I am an idiot," Sakura said, listening to Sai and Gaara fight while she healed an enemy. "I loved a dreamer that's been dead for hundreds of years. What kind of idiot does that?"

She pulled her hand away and stood up, backing up in the sand. Sasuke leaned forward and touched the flesh that was pink and scarred, but no longer spewing blood. "You should have just killed me. I'm supposed to steal your god mark."

"Why? Because a script told you? Because that's your role here in this world?" Sakura barked, voice filled with sharp edges that turned sharper the more she spoke. "You live in a world with stupid gods and stupid laws and stupid guides that tell you want to say, what to do, what to wear, what to think, how to act. You're a king but you're really a slave."

He watched her with wide eyes, likely not understanding what she was talking about. Her words wouldn't make sense to him as long as he was a dreamer unaware. He wasn't like Gaara or Madara, he was dumb to the laws of his own reality and the strings manipulating him through the narrative. She pitied him. She pitied Sasori. She pitied all the villains and lovers who were slaves in their own bodies.

She remembered the shackles on her wrists and the boot on her back. The memory was fresh and raw of a man telling her she wasn't anything better than property. She wasn't her own person anymore, but a thing to be bought and sold. She was slave to a slave inside a world where no one was free and never anyone safe.

"As long as you live in these lands your actions will never be truly your own. This world needs to come down and I will be the one that rips it from the heavens."

"You're mad."

"I'm far more than that," Sakura snarled, feeling all the anger in her rise to the surface.

Her aura was a crackle of energy that made her hair stand up and the sands shift around her. Her armor melted into rough geode chunks around her and the mask fell away. She was steaming as a her eyes strained to see the world rightly. Sasuke was right, she was mad. She was furious and she was crazy with it.

She turned to see the giant, bastard god and the edges of her vision took on a red tint. She took hold of all that anger, all that hurt, all those moments and times she felt hurt. She reached into her hurt like a bloody scabbard and pulled her bone sword out anew, gleaming and bright between her breasts.

She stepped onto the sand and it hissed, crystalizing into glass where she walked and she made her paces steady and even, coming up behind Gaara and Sai's efforts to incapacitate the god that saw all. She was close enough that it turned to her and reached with one of its many arms, but Sakura swung through it and the appendage fell nearly to the sands around her, drying up upon impact.

Gaara was fine, close and aggressive, but Sai was lagging with bleeding cuts old and new across his body. Sai saw her first and limped back, close to her but not close enough to be burned by the heat shield that swirled around her. He grinned at the sight of her and back peddled to where Sasuke watched limply in the sand. Sai swung his saber and kept the brat prince down, but didn't move to threaten him any more than that.

"What is she? Is that because of the god marks?" she heard Sasuke ask.

"No, that was always in her to begin with. It's how she earned those marks, after all."

Sakura felt her hurt deep inside her and pressed up against it like one would with a fresh bruise. Each application of pressure made her hurt bleed a little more. She saw Sasori betraying her, died under her hand. She saw Tenten and Kiba being killed in the sand of the coliseum. Madara calling out to her in notes of loneliness, swearing he'd do whatever if she'd just stay where it was safe. She saw the heavy weight of a tailed beast trampling Deidara and then Sasori's puppet form. She saw Sai dying under her sword the first time, she heard Kimimaro's cries as another finished him off. She heard the dead howl of Hungry broken and trampled. She tasted Sasori's first and last kiss with her from the Kingdom of Man.

Hurt after hurt. Each one made her burn a little brighter, a little stronger, a little hotter. Each experience made her a more deadly creature in the Kingdom of Gods.

She broke glass where she walked.

A collection of arms wound together and pushed Gaara back. It was the perfect move that put him out of range and Sakura was ready for it, raising her blade and screaming with a dozen voices in her throat, each one the last sound of a loved one. She lunged and twisted into the attack, pouring anger and rage into the strike, sending it out like a golden arch that cut through a dozen arms before landing in a shrieking hiss just below the large eye.

The bastard god screeched with all it's mouths and stood up before falling back down, close to where Sakura stood. She ran to avoid the impact and changed direction on a time to charge back at it's body, swinging again with another glowing blade. This one took out a whole side of arms and cut into the body where gold ichor bled.

" **Child**!" it roared with three voices. The large eye turned down the side of its body, moving to see her more clearly. " **This is the body you will not defeat. I have seen it.** "

"I'm not playing by your rules anymore," Sakura snarled, stabbing at the eye and missing as the giant lids moved out of the way. Sakura's sword sank into the flesh of its body and freed a stream of gold ichor.

" **I have see the dawn of man and I will see it's twilight yet. I am the one who has, who is, and who will be, the sight that sees beyond the bound of man's mind. I am the Gate and I am the Key. You know not what you do. I know your fate**."

Sakura screamed with all the breath inside of her, assaulting the body she was closest to, tearing it open and hacking away huge chunks of it. A coil of arms reached for her and she rolled out of the way only to spring up and slice through them at the base. There were still hundreds of arms, but Sakura saw bald patches on the body that were in thanks to all the efforts supporting her.

"You know jack shit!" Sakura roared.

The body rolled over towards her and Sakura ran to avoid a crushing, racing straight to the edge only to be caught as it pitched upright and turned towards her, towering like a huge door to the sky. She looked at it and froze, caught in her mistake as all the many eyes in the center of the great eye were locked on her, some spinning, others rippling with all the worlds they saw into. Sakura was caught in their gaze and transfixed as a image bled into her mind.

She saw herself ripped in half and left to bleed out in the sand. She saw her friends screaming for her. She saw the world close up and fold into itself only to turn and show off the real world where she lay bleeding in her bed, eyes wide and open to the world with no life in them. The people around her were crying and cursing. Even Danzo was there, looking older and sadder than she though he could.

They lowered a black box into the ground and Ino was there. Karin was at the head of it all, with her mom and dad behind her. People Sakura barely knew were there. Sakura's mother was there, looking lost, but there all the same.

Then there was Madara, standing in the empty void of a dead dream, looking at nothing, watching nothing but the emptiness. Across that black expanse Gaara knelt on his own mound of sand, watching and waiting just as well.

The Obelisk tumbled into the mud and sank deep, finally forgotten. All the spirits trapped without slept on for another thousand years, trapped in blissful slavery to a narrative not their own.

"Lies," Sakura breathed into the vision.

" **I am the one who has, who is, and who will be, the sight that sees beyond the bound of man's mind. I am the Gate and I am the Key. All of this is what was, what is, and what will be. I see your death."**

The image went back to Sakura dead in her bed, discovered in her own blood. The tattoos under her neck still stood out, as well as the ones on her shoulders.

 _She didn't have any tattoos on her shoulders._

Sakura's eyes burned as her heart roared in discovery. She wasn't going to die here. What it showed her was a lit!

Sakura found the hurt deep inside her and squeezed it harder, wringing out all the blood in it like a ripe fruit. Her hurt flared as a power around her and the image burned away.

Sakura was on fire again, brilliant and glittering.

The bastard god screeched and attacked her with so many arms at once. Sakura cut down what she could and dived out of the way from the rest, but a coiling strand reached for her face and brushed up against the side of her head as she fell, slicing through her hair close enough to make the wind a sound in her ear. The pink strands fluttered as she rolled further out of reach and rounded, flaring the fire around her so that it burned the arms that reached for her before they could get close enough to harm.

" **I hold the Keys to the Gate of Time and Knowing, the boundaries are mine to trespass. The world of secrets is me and in me. I have seen that no man strikes me down from the dawning of day to the husk of nigh. I am a god of unknowing, the great auger of fate and your fate is seen**."

"No one knows my fate but me, it's what I make."

Sakura rumbled, her own voice lapping over and over until her words sounded like they came from a dozen different mouths. She felt terrible and powerful. The sand below her feet was blooming in shards of glass, with more and more layers atop each.

The arms reached for her, a dozen at a time, each set burning as soon as it came close enough to the shield of fire around her. She lifted her bone sword, feeling it light with veins of gold. In her opposite hand she wrapped her fingers around the dreamed out sheath, made from ivory and carved with her history. She turned the point of her breathing sword back into the sheath, listening to the sound it made going back before a click told her it was at the end. She held both at her side, braced the way Zabuza taught her for a dynamic draw, something too flash for her to have studied very well.

When Sakura lifted her eyes to the bastard god and saw it towering over her, stretching tall enough so that when it fell it would crush her. All its eyes were set on her but they couldn't suck her into another illusion. Sakura felt her own eyes burned away to orbs of pupils whites, wicked with fire.

The bastard god cursed her for her arrogance and it was all noise to Sakura. She had heard this speech before, how it knew it would live, how no man could defeat it, bla bla bla. It was out of time to learn the truth about fate.

Sakura felt her sword shake inside the sheath at her side and grinned, teeth sharp and gleaming in delight. All her hurt was drained into this and she would be light and empty afterwards, but that was okay. She didn't need to be anything more after this.

"You should have run when you knew I was coming. You see a fright train rumbling and no amount of knowing or seeing is going to help you if you're still on the tracks."

She gripped the end of her blade and tensed. Her whole body moved with the action as she drew her blade on a war cry. A crescent of golden light, thicker and bigger than before, rippled out from her blade and it tore into the body of the god as the bastard celestial started to throw itself down atop Sakura. She was covered in its shadow as she screamed, gold and glowing.

"I am no man you fucking piece of shit!"

 _I am the god here._

The god collapsed atop her, thick and heavy. All around her the desert scattered in shards of glass and grains of glittering sand as the mammoth body settled down.

"Sakura!"

Gaara screamed her name and Sai ran out behind him to where her body had last been seen, a speck in comparison to the hulking god. A river of gold colored ichor spread out from underneath the god and no one doubted Sakura struck a fierce blow, but a god the size of a small skyscraper just fell on top of her and no one had seen her move out in time.

Gaara swirled his sand into the gold ichor making it hammer hard, knife sharp and used it to tear the body apart, hacking away at shreds of it. There was enough body to fill a temple and it was a slower process than anticipated.

Gaara was screaming her name over and over as Sai ran to help in the process. The redhead's voice was raw as he continued to scream. Far behind them Sasuke started to limp over, holding his bruised elbow and looking lost.

"She did it," he breathed, staring at the frantic friends. "How did she do that?"

"Here, Gaara."

The redhead looked up to where Sai was pulling up chunks of god flesh. The parts he peels away were black and burned. He peeled another layer out and a hiss of steam escaped as the heat abated. Gaara's sand helped in the efforts and together a huge chunk was pulled away.

Sakura looked up from where she knelt, feeling empty as she leaned on her sword, stuck into the ground. She was covered in god ichor, gold and heavy. It didn't matter to Gaara as he rushed in and fell on her, pulling her to himself in a hug made up of all his fears and love.

"I was so scared," He whispered into the side of her hair. "I was so scared you wouldn't be able to fight it."

She looked at Gaara so close and then her eyes went to Sai, watching her from atop the hacked body. "I did it," she croaked, feeling tired in more ways than one.

"You did, you did," Gaara cheered, voice almost as raw as hers.

Sakura closed her eyes and leaned into his shoulders. "I didn't run away."

"I'm sorry I didn't believe in you," Gaara whispered back. "But I'm so glad you're alright."

Sakura forced herself to shrug. "It was just another god. I've already killed one, this one wasn't so hard." She chuckled and then her voice dissolved into coughs that racked her whole body. She leaned forward out of Gaara's arms to brace on the side and hack.

"Her shoulders," Sasuke said, pointing. "The markings!"

Sakura glanced down at what she could see of the eye marking on her left shoulder before looking to her right and seeing the exact, but reversed image of the Egyptian eye on either shoulder. The Eye of Horus and the Eye of Ra. Several inches below the eyes her arm was encircled with a band of star shaped dots. Each of her index fingers was burned with a similar star, but only her index.

By far this was her most expansive tattoo.

"The eyes to see now rest atop your shoulders, my friend," Sai joked. "Be proud, you've won for yourself two different god tattoos in one dream. You are three fourths of the way to the end of everything."

Sakura smoothed back what was left of her ruined hair and glared up at Sai, but it was Sasuke who ended up laughing, oddly enough. She turned along with Gaara and Sai to stare at the young brat prince who seemed to have lost it.

"Of course it would be you," he laughed, still holding his elbow. "The bastard gods have lived in these lands since time immemorial, and you kill two of them. You're mad, you're crazy. Of course the woman stupid enough to save an enemy is the one that does the impossible," Sasuke laughed.

Sasuke dissolved into giggles and Gaara turned to look at her again. "Was that not a mistake? Did you really do that? He's not a decent fellow and sort of an asshole."

Sakura touched on of the eyes on her shoulder and then looked back up at Gaara. "I've had enough of death and killing. I just felt really bad for how he was written, it's not his fault."

"She's crazy," Sasuke continued to laugh, falling back on his rump from the shakes.

"Hmm, he may be right about you, though." Sai came up behind her and pat her head in praise. She felt how short her hair was on one side when he ruffled it. "You're crazy enough to be what this world needs."

* * *

 **"Blood ends and blood begins.  
Blood ends and light begins.  
We are broken dams.  
We are goddamn broken.  
We are God: dams broken." **

**Jeremy Radin, from "With These Hands"**

* * *

AN:/I really do feel bad for how Sasuke was written, not like he could help how much of an asshole he was in the series. That's not his fault and I've had a couple of years to try and get over it. I had planned to kill him in earlier versions, (cause you know how much I don't love him, right?) but so much time has passes that a few details have been swapped around to better suite the story. The actors really are sort of like brainwashed slaves that can still think and don't know they are being brainwashed. They can't help it if someone tells them to think or act or work in an icky way and Sakura is starting to feel the weight of what that truly means-especially after being a slave in the last gate. So, the end game hasn't changed at all, just a few details between here and there.

It's getting close to the end, but I still have a handful of chapters to write. That being said, they might start looking a little shorter, just because 8K a chapter is kinda difficult. I also want to put of the ending I know is coming up. Obelisk is like my baby, I don't want her to be finished and over. The next update comes the following Saturday. Every Saturday is an update of something, either this or Under the Rabbit's Moon, because that has a few chapters to update with.

Also, the next chapter is sort of a down chapter, like, resting and relaxing or at least the illusion of it. Things in the waking world might just be more frightening than those in the dream world for once. We shall see.

If you can, please leave me a _**review**_ to let me know you're still on board with the story and still find it interesting. I love to hear back from you and know my work is reaching people. Thank you!

* * *

Side Note: I also have a A03 account where I'll begin to start uploading stuff *coughsmutcough* (I'm super lazy) that usually shows up on my tumblr... my A03 handle is Vesperchan and of course my tumblr id is vesperlionheart in case you wanted to know.


	16. Chapter 16

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

 _I don't know how to stay tender_  
 _with this much blood in my mouth_

 _-Emma Tranter_  
 _excerpt from the heartless girls zine_

* * *

Recap:

Sakura glanced down at what she could see of the eye marking on her left shoulder before looking to her right and seeing the exact, but reversed image of the Egyptian eye on either shoulder. The Eye of Horus and the Eye of Ra. Several inches below the eyes her arm was encircled with a band of star shaped dots. Each of her index fingers was burned with a similar star, but only her index.

By far this was her most expansive tattoo.

"The eyes to see now rest atop your shoulders, my friend," Sai joked. "Be proud, you've won for yourself two different god tattoos in one dream. You are three fourths of the way to the end of everything."

Sakura smoothed back what was left of her ruined hair and glared up at Sai, but it was Sasuke who ended up laughing, oddly enough. She turned along with Gaara and Sai to stare at the young brat prince who seemed to have lost it.

"Of course it would be you," he laughed, still holding his elbow. "The bastard gods have lived in these lands since time immemorial, and you kill two of them. You're mad, you're crazy. Of course the woman stupid enough to save an enemy is the one that does the impossible," Sasuke laughed.

Sasuke dissolved into giggles and Gaara turned to look at her again. "Was that not a mistake? Did you really do that? He's not a decent fellow and sort of an asshole."

Sakura touched on of the eyes on her shoulder and then looked back up at Gaara. "I've had enough of death and killing. I just felt really bad for how he was written, it's not his fault."

"She's crazy," Sasuke continued to laugh, falling back on his rump from the shakes.

"Hmm, he may be right about you, though." Sai came up behind her and pat her head in praise. She felt how short her hair was on one side when he ruffled it. "You're crazy enough to be what this world needs."

* * *

Sakura woke up sore, but free from the stick of god ichor, and smelling less like a desert and more like the lavender in their detergent. She groaned and reached up to feel her throat. There was nothing there to feel, but she could see the black lines on her shoulders so she suspected the sun arms running down her neck were visible in the real world as well.

It wasn't an early morning anymore, but a mid morning with a high sun sending short shadows into her room. It was still summer, but where she was staying so high up there was a nice chill thanks to the elevation. Sakura pulled herself up out of bed and into the bathroom, making sure her door was locked so that no one could come in and disturb her.

She saw the black lines right away and winced at how noticeable they were. Someone was going to think she had issues if she was seen on the street with such intense tattoos. It was too much to try and cover up with concealer, also.

There was a knock outside the door and Sakura stilled.

"Hey, Sakura, it's me. You in there just fine?" Yamato asked, sounding worried.

"Don't be creepy," Sakura called back, turning the water on. "I'm fine, you don't need to check up on me when I'm in the bathroom of all places."

"You've been in bed all morning and I didn't want to wake you. The kid has been pestering me to let him know the second you are awake so you can work together," Yamato called back through the door.

"Jugo?" Sakura guessed. He was the youngest out of the three that always seemed to be watching her.

"Who else?"

Sakura looked back at herself with the tattoos on both shoulders and neck. She could hide the eye tats with a long enough shirt, but the arm rays on her throat would be too difficult to conceal. They came up under her jaw and it was the height of summer. Even in the mountains it wasn't cold enough to justify anything concealing.

'Why do you want to hide your tattoos anyway?' a voice inside her asked.

Sakura leaned back away from the mirror and rubbed at the base of her neck. Tired all over, she couldn't explain or justify the churning in her gut that spiked every time she thought about exposing that part of herself to others. She knew in the real world there were people who wanted her dead, who saw her as a threat. It was funny because they actually believed she was dangerous enough to warrant extermination. They wanted to kill her, but at least they believed in her.

"Sakura?" Yamato called out again. "Are you hungry? I'll get you something to eat. If you don't wanna work with Jugo just let me know and I'll tell him to scram."

"Don't be mean."

She could just imagine Yamato's pout. "I'm not mean!"

"You tease that poor kid more than anyone I know."

"He starts it."

Sakura pulled open a drawer and reached into the mess looking for the scissors. "That's not true."

"Sakura…you didn't tell me if you wanted breakfast. I'm getting you something to eat like it or not, you might as well tell me what you want."

Sakura ran a hand through her hair, frowning at the messy tuffs on the side of her head, left over from her fight in the dream world. It looked terrible. "I'll get something when I'm done with my shower. Don't be a perv now."

His sputtering would have been adorable any other day, but Sakura was too distracted from all her emotions to muster up a smile in reaction. There were things she didn't want to feel and things she didn't want to remember. So much had happened last night, but all she let herself dwell on was the fight with the bastard god and the gold ichor that still stained the back of her teeth. If she ran her tongue over them she could taste his blood there.

Her hand started to shake wildly and Sakura dropped the scissors into the sink and braced on the edge as her gut rolled. She felt the cold smooth of the porcelain, the droplets of water left behind,, she felt the tile under her toes, the itch of cotton under her arms, the edge of her teeth in her mouth.

It kept her from reeling.

Sakura struggled to ground herself further, dropping the scissors and reaching into the drawers to run her fingers over the compacts, the tubes of lipstick, the brushes, and even eyelash curler. Every curve and edge helped pull her back to the moment where reality didn't hurt so bad.

"You've killed two ancient bastard gods, you can't not be fine," she told herself out loud. Her own voice was a sound that led her back.

Sakura dropped to her knees on the tiled floor and then turned around so her back was to the wall. She closed her eyes and stretched out her legs in front of her. She could feel time move around her, slip over her, and pass her by, but she wanted it to stay still. Time was moving on headless of her desires, but she still wasn't ready to get up, and she feared she might never be ready.

She wanted Karin. She wanted Ino. She felt alone and it had been so long since she last saw either of her friends. Karin knew were Sakura was, but Karin was busy with community college and Ino had an acting role and both had amazing lives that didn't have anything to do with monsters or gods or deserts or dead lovers.

Sakura's heart hurt in a whole new way and she felt the tears leak. She missed her friends. All she wanted was her friends and she knew she could pull through whatever shit the dream threw at her. It wasn't fair that they had taken her phone and disabled the signal to 'protect her.' She felt isolated, and Jugo, Yamato, and Genma were great pals, but she wanted her girlfriends.

Sakura opened her eyes feeling heat on her face and a pounding in her head.

Not her head.

She blinked and looked up at the door that was shaking with each pound. Someone was outside calling out her name, sounding more and more frantic. All the shadows were in different places and the sun was much lower in the sky.

Had she dozed off, or just not realized how long she sat there lost in thought?

"Sakura, open the door!" That was Genma, not Yamato.

"No," she croaked, barely loud enough to be heard. She forced herself to roll over onto her side and then push up off the floor. Her knees were too tired and she wobbled. Standing was hard again.

"Sakura, are you alright? You're not hurting yourself in there?"

Her heart pinched on their concern. "Go away. I'm fine."

"You've been in there for hours." It was Yamato's voice that responded, not Genma's.

"I lost track of time and fell asleep, geez." Sakura was proud of how strong her voice sounded when the rest of her felt like it was going to break apart. She sounded normal. "Don't be babies about it and back off my door. Yall a bunch of perverts."

"I don't believe you," Genma called through the door. "Show me your face at least. I need to see you're alright."

"I don't feel like seeing anyone today," Sakura growled out, hackles rising. It was easier to feel angry than hurt. She didn't like feeling hurt.

"Sakura, we're worried about you, even Jugo," Yamato interrupted, sounding like a softer version of his earlier self. "Something happened. You're being distant with us."

Sakura didn't respond but pulled out the drawer again and reached for something new. There was a male's electric razor that looked so similar to the one she had used when Karin insisted they sport matching undercuts during their first year as friends. Sakura did Karin's cut for her and then chickened out when she saw how sloppy Karin's handiwork was.

She plugged in the razor and turned it on.

"What the hell is she doing?" Yamato hissed, recognizing the sound.

Sakura parted her hair from where it was healthy and long and where it was hacked and short. She used one of the combs to make a straight part down the side of her head all the way to her neck's nape. She then leaned her head to one side and started to buzz down what the scissors couldn't get earlier.

"You better not be doing what I think you're doing. You're too pretty to pull a Britney Spears on us now, Sakura!" Genma yelled through the door.

Sakura smirked at the thought of cutting everything off and stepping out of the room with black paint smeared across the top half of her face. What use did she have for the world's standards on beauty? She was a god killer in a curse constructed to kill all the unworthy.

"Sakura, please, don't be hurting yourself," Yamato called through the door, trying the handle again. Sakura had locked it twice, so even if they picked the lock, the latch would catch and keep her safe….and them out.

"Shut up, I told you I'm not," she snapped, watching herself in the mirrors to make sure her job was as neat as the one on Karin. She had been so proud of that buzz wasn't a reason her own should be any less amazing.

She turned the razor off and ran the water from the sink to wash away the left over hairs. She wiped that side of her head down, pulling off her shirt to stand exposed in front of the sink. With a wet cloth she cleaned her head, her face, her neck and shoulders, her torso, her arms, and other parts of her.

There were still voices on the other side of the door, complaining about how lunch was so long ago and this was new and Danzo would be worried and Jugo would be ….something. Sakura didn't listen hard enough to catch all the words.

On the back of the door were some shirts and an extra bra. She started to pull the one on over her head, and then reached for the shirt with the longest sleeves. It was the only shirt with sleeves at all, and thankful it was enough to cover the eyes and the rings under them. There were no pants and the shirt did nothing to hide the Egyptian sun rays on her neck. It wasn't perfect, but she doubted they would leave if she told them to.

"I'm coming out now," she warned. She undid one lock and paused before undoing the other. "I'm not wearing pants so don't be perverts about it."

There was a scuffle as Genma made a dirty joke and Yamato likely tried to smack him for it.

"Turn around, you ass!"

"Why just me?"

"Cause you're the perverted slut."

"All the more reason to ignore me-it's not anything I haven't seen before."

There was more fighting but Sakura pulled the last lock back and stepped out, pausing to watch the two boys watch her. She saw a reflection of herself in their eyes and watched each expression's shift and change.

"Shit. I take that back," Genma whispered, swallowing slowly, mouth agap.

* * *

Sakura didn't leave her room that day, and the boys brought everything she needed to her. When any of the elders asked about her absence they were quick to lie. Not even they knew why, but everyone knew deep down that her new tattoos were a discovery best left uncovered.

* * *

"So this is the power of a man god," Sasuke wondered out loud, looking all around him at the different strands of colored light filtering in through the dyed fabrics overhead.

Sakura looked up from the decorated pillow where she lounged to watch the brat prince's blind amazement. She had dreamed up the tent to shade them while they were carried back across the desert atop an elephant large enough to actually be a blue whale with two extra sets of legs.

She flicked a finger and part of the tapestry overhead shifted and melted into colored glass. Sasuke gasped like a child and Sakura had to fight back a snort.

Gaara got up from where he had been sitting and brought with him a studded goblet with swirling peach nectar. He reached for her hand and helped her up before pressing it to her lips. Sakura sipped gratefully, knowing she neither desired nor needed food while in the dream.

In some worlds she was tricked into feeling hunger and imagining want, but as long as she was so self aware, she could go nights on end in the dream without eating or sleeping. Still, she could taste things if she wanted to.

Sasuke side eyed the pair of them before glaring when Gaara moved back to set their shared goblet down.

"If you could do all this on your own without the god tattoos, then why did you risk your life for them?" Sasuke asked, edging closer to the edge of her pillow set.

"They were necessary for something else…" Sakura answered, glancing to Sai and looking for a sign as to how much she could tell this new addition to the party.

Gaara had been mildly upset about Sakura's decision to heal and recover the brat prince, but Sai only laughed and grinned at her, saying something along the lines of how it sounded like something she would do.

"His role will be to try and steal your tattoos," Gaara warned her.

"I know. But he can't help it, and I'll be expecting it this time. I'll be less broken up if I have to kill this actor," she whispered back to him, watching as Sasuke walked off ahead of them.

She might have gone a little overboard in crafting their transportation back to the palace where they would be able to launch a secondary excursion for the storm in the center of the desert where the final Obelisk was hidden. It was so close, Sakura almost couldn't believe it. The last bastard god was defeated and with Gaara she had all she needed to leave this world and win the god trials.

It unnerved her.

"Something bothering you?" Gaara asked, watching Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, still not trusting the brat.

"There are many things bothering me. Talking about such worries will alleviate none of them, I fear," she answered.

"What of the men in your own waking world?" Gaara went on to ask, not caring if Sasuke overheard. Sasuke was the only one of the group that didn't know the world around them was her dream, built up to form a god trial that spanned over two years.

"They're…being supportive as I suspected. They were a bit freaked out about it all, but when I talked to them they didn't push me for more answers or details about my fight." Sakura touched her one shoulder, left exposed as the white sleeves of her dress were clipped in gold bands atop her shoulders to keep her cool. "I didn't show them the newest tats."

"It might have been too much for them to take in at once." Gaara reached over and ran the knuckles of his fingers over where her hair had been buzzed.

"They shouldn't be surprised at this rate. After everything else…"

"Very little follows you into the waking world."

Sakura looked up and almost glared at Gaara, remembering the way her hands shook and body rocked with new tremors and fears. " _Everything_ follows be into the waking world.

"Very little that they can see and believe," he amended, dropping his eyes. "Your chronicler may know, but none will ever understand what you endure apart from another dreamer, and even then I don't think the suffering you've endured could be copied so well."

"What? Not every dreamer takes a lover during their trials?" she joked, knowing full well how many of the diaries had whole chapters filled with smut that made girls and boys blush to read. Madara's exploits in the kingdom of monsters…

Gaara side eyed her, leaning back in his own pillows. "Plenty take lovers in each world, most who chose so chose to take several. That's never been a new thing. But very few have loved their actors so faithfully to hurt so tragically."

"Although," Sai entered their ring of pillows and settled himself down with an easy smile. "I don't think any have shown such pure innocence in their lovers."

"Sai," Sakura growled in warning.

He grinned at her and she remembered how annoying she first found him back in the Kingdom of Man where he was a cryptic guide with a coy smile and a habit of evaporating into thought the moment you needed him. Now he was her dear friend, but he was also a mischief maker when he was idle for too long, as she was slowly discovering.

"I don't mean anything bad by it," he amended, raising both palms up in defense. "It's sweet."

Gaara tried not to, but he couldn't help but look interested and she had to glare at him to make him blink and break eye contact with the Sight of Dejection. Sakura snapped her fingers in front of Sai's face and then pointed at him with a scowl on her own lips.

"Watch it, buddy."

"You don't like your virtue being praised."

"I don't like it being made into a subject for conversation."

Sai shrugged, leaning back into the pillows with an easy smile. "Are you having any issue with your chronicler, then? If I remember correctly, he was once attracted to you or still is. Was it awkward talking about how Madara seduced you in the last Kingdom?"

Sakura summoned a golden dinner plate out of pure thought and swung it hard in his direction. He braced with his hands up, but there was still a echoing clang as he was knocked backwards over a roll of pillows. Sakura turned the golden dinner plate into a sword with a flick of her wrist.

"I can't believe I risked my life for your ungrateful gossipy ass," she huffed. "What is it with you?"

"You don't think it's unfair how the others in this conversation do no contribute their own stories before pulling out your history?" Sasuke asked, walking over in a mask of confidence, thought the hesitation was easy to pick out when he glanced to the sword still in her hand. When she didn't swing for him or bark an accusation the brat prince lowered himself to a cushion across from her.

Sakura dropped the sword and let it flake into glittering sand dust before it hit the floor. "All around I think it is an uncomfortable conversation to have with the present company. I'll indulge myself once I'm back with my girlfriends. No offense, Gaara, but, it's just where I am most comfortable having such a conversation." Sakura glared over her shoulder at Sai. "I'm not apologizing to you because I don't care if I hurt your feelings."

"I thought we were friends." He grinned, sitting up and scooting back over to where he once sat before getting hit in the face by Sakura.

We are," she said. "I'm really surprised with you right now, and not in a good way."

"You forget I'm originally a guide. All guides are tasked with the responsibility of crafting a world and writing a narrative to challenge the dreamer. Some guides make more of an emphasis on setting, others on the narrative, while some may look to the actors and characters most heavily."

"What was your speciality?" Sakura asked, already guessing. She remembered how enamored he was with her library of knowledge from back in the first kingdom.

"Setting, obviously."

Sakura grinned and chuckled. "I knew it."

"The two of you…" Sasuke interjected, watching how Sakura and Sai interacted. "What are you to each other?"

"Sakura's the hero and I am the bard singing her epics," Sai answered quickly, face so neutral anyone would think he was dead serious.

Sakura picked up a pillow and smacked him with it. "You're such a-I have no idea what has gotten into you. It's like you're worse than ever before." She turned back to look at Sasuke. "He's my friend, a good friend. We've known each other a long while and been through a lot together."

"He's not your lover?" Sasuke asked, ducking his head to hide how his ears burned.

Gaara looked up at her, watching her expression as it turned sour and likely remembering the time he asked her the same sort of question.

"I swear to God, I don't want his dick. I don't know how else to phrase it. Friends. _Frieeeeeeends_." Sakura waved her hands at Sai. "Just friends."

Sasuke was watching her curiously, with an almost embarassed expression. "Do you…like men?"

Sakura felt her face burn as she dropped it into her hands. "I can't believe I am having this conversation right now. Why? _Whyyyyyyyyyyy_?" She lifted her head and gave him a desperate look. "Why would you ask me that? Just because I don't want Sai's dick? I don't have to want every man's dick do I?"

Behind her Sakura could hear Sai snickering and knew that Gaara's expression was a mask for the amusement that was dancing in his eyes as he watched on. She had spent so many nights in so many different facets of the Obelisk world with so many different actors and guides. After all this, at the very end, she gets stuck on the back of a eight legged elephant crossing the desert with a trio of boys all interested in talking about sexuality. She just killed a god and all they want to talk about is… sex. What had she done to deserve this?

"Don't blame him, it's his script, remember," Sai chuckled, ducking over and sliding into a seat beside her, disrupting the pillows as he moves.

"It's our duty to rise above our programing," Sakura mutters, glaring sideways at Sasuke who looks partly lost but still intrigued. She doesn't want to blame him because she knows he really can't help it, but she hopes that the more she talks about their world being a dream and the longer he is around her, he'll start to wake up and evolve organically.

"It sounds like a game would be more your speed at the moment," Gaara interrupts. "We can talk about such fascinating subjects later if you're more willing, but for now let's play with the dice.

"I'm not sure I have anything to gamble," says Sasuke.

Sakura waves her hand and the space between them rises up as a low table is dreamed into being. The sides are raised so that any dice rolled will not fall off the sides. It reminded Sakura of a severally overpriced gaming table that was custom made for one of her old bosses back in high school. She worked out of his house cleaning and always envied the table.

"I don't play with bets," Sakura grumbled. "It's not worth it."

Sasuke smirked across from her. "I'd say the same thing if I could dream money out of thin air."

"Then should we wager something else?" Gaara asked reaching behind him for the win he had left alone until now. Sakura held out her hand to him and he gifted her the goblet of peach nectar she had been sipping from earlier.

"What do I have to fear losing?" Sakura asked over the rim of her cup.

"Secrets, confessions, stories? If you don't feel like answering questions that's fine, but maybe it would be easier if you won them from others?"

Sakura touched the table and four different black boxes grew out of the wood before tipping over to spill their dice. Each player sat in front of a set of six playing dice, each with six sides. Sakura made each se differently colored. Gaara had crimson dice with speckled with flecks of gold and gold numbers, Sasuke's dice was black with scarlet numbers, Sai's set was blue with veins of copper streaked throughout in addition to the coper numbers. Sakura's own dice set was a teal green with gold numbers.

"There are still things I don't want to answer and I'll not confess to anything I don't want to."

"Innocent questions, then," Sai interjected. "What's your favorite color, what do you like to eat, what's your favorite time of day….those sort of questions. You'd feel comfortable with those, wouldn't you?"

Sakura reached for her dice and scooped them back into the black velvet cup. "Fine. The game is Farkle. First to five thousand points gets to ask a question. We'll play as many rounds as you want."

Sakura waved her hand again and the point system for roles as well as the rules burned up through the velvet at the base of the table. Sasuke looked over the rules and learned them along with Gaara, but Sai smiled easily, likely already knowing about the game from Sakura's memories.

"I'll warn you, I don't think I'll lose first," she said.

"It's a game of luck, don't get too confident," Sasuke chastised playfully, collecting his own dice with a grin other girls might think attractive.

Somehow it ended with Sasuke dressed as Dr. Strange and Gaara as an assassin from the Assassins Creed games. Sakura was dressed in a card capturing outfit from the Card Capture Sakura series, and Sai was Zuko the fire prince from the Avatar the Last Airbender cartoon series. It was the oddest of costume combinations and Sakura didn't know how the dice game dissolved into bouts of flash dress up, but it might have had something to do with all the peach nectar and the opportunity to actually enjoy some aspect of the dreadful dream. For a few hours Sakura could forget about gods and curses and dead lovers.

Sai helped dream up the costumes, but Sakura was the one with the background in nerd so she was the lead fashion designer while he supported her crazy off the wall ideas. Sasuke actually seemed thrilled with the game and Gaara was just happy to see her happy.

"I want to be the metal man again," Sasuke insisted, still playing with his red cape so that it flapped behind him as he turned and twisted.

The metal man was a cyborg that Sakura had used Genos from One Punch Man as a reference for. Sasuke's body wasn't altered, but the surface of his skin turned metal and different facets of his body would open up when he moved. Sakura thought the design interesting enough to try on the first willing participant, and Sasuke had lost with the lowest score so she didn't even bother asking his permission. Thankfully, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

Sakura waved her hand and it was done in less than an eye's blink.

"You don't get tired, even after all this?" Sasuke asked her, testing out his metal fingers.

Sakura shook her head and reached for a bread stick, soft as any freshly baked loaf and coated in a butter garlic spread. "Not here, and not anymore."

"Where else is there but here?"Sasuke asked, still standing with his metal arms waving to open the different gun compartments that Sakura did not stock with actual ammunition.

"I walk between two worlds, this one and the one I was born into. This world is my dream, which is why I am master of it and can do as I do. Elsewhere I am just as mortal as anyone else and a lot less fed."

"They're feeding you, though," Gaara asked, turning to her with a undercurrent of concern in his tone. "You said those friends of yours were bringing you food."

"I'm fine. I have all the food I could want. More than my stomach could hold, which is not how I started out, mind you. I'm being spoiled where I am right now." Sakura held the breadstick just in front of her lips. "It's keeping it down that's the issue."

"Why?"

Sakura looked up at Sasuke who was still standing and staring down at her while she longed among the pillows. He seemed younger than when she first met him and pegged him as a brat prince playboy. The playboy angle didn't work on her and he seemed to have dropped it completely. Being a brat didn't get him anywhere either. It was interesting getting to see a new layer to his character and even Gaara admitted that this was the most interesting Sasuke he's seen, since in the few previous dreams when Sasuke is employed he's killed right away or taken up on those bedroom adventures, regardless of orientation.

 _"He's following a script, regardless of orientation,"_ Sai whispered into her ear, sobering her.

That was when Sakura dressed Sasuke up as a Spartan from the Halo games where she couldn't see his face.

"Why what?" Sakura parroted, being purposefully obtuse.

"Why can't you keep food down in the other world if you can dream bread out of nothing in this world?"

"That's a good question. If I find out the answer I'll let you know, but the leading theory is that I'm a wreck of a person that's far sloppier and messier than the version of myself you see here."

Sasuke's lip curled and she was reminded of all the times he said bratty things. "Are you really fat in the other world, or ugly?"

She bit into her bread with a bored look. "The ugliest. I have worts on top of my worts, I'm cross eyed with gray hair and fuzz on my chin."

"You should have made him win for an answer to that question," Gaara grumbled. "There are limits to how rude you can be."

"And obviously I've not reacted them if I'm still here," Sasuke shot back with an edge of snark. He grinned slyly and Gaara flinched at the sight of such a devious expression.

"It's not because of your looks, I'll tell you that right now before your ego gets too inflated," Sakura cut in, delighting far too much in the way Sasuke reacted, as if she guessed exactly what he had been thinking when he smiled so slyly in the first place. "I've seen prettier boys that you, Sasuke. Don't get too full of yourself."

"I wasn't…I-I never said anything like that." He glanced between the others seat around the gaming table and started to slowly sit. "And I don't believe you, for the record. I'm very pretty, everyone tells me so."

Sakura looked over at him and smiled like a mother humoring her delusion child. "Sure, honey."

Sasuke bristled at her tone and huffed. "Well, who would you consider pretty?"

She thought of Sasori and hurt all over, but didn't let it show on her face. Instead, she reached for the dice in front of her. "Beat me and maybe I'll show you."

* * *

It took two blissfully relaxing days on the back of an enchanted elephant to get back to the capital where Gaara discovered Deidara's mysterious disappearance as well as a number of other lose ends being taken care of. Sasuke was thought to be still on business and no one questioned it when Gaara led a hooded figure into his palace along with known friends Sakura and Sai.

Gaara had summoned his chief cartographer to work with Sai in drawing up a map that would get them to the desert at the center of the world, and the Obelisk that would end all of Sakura's nightmares.

While business is being seen to by the greater pharaoh Sasuke teaches her how to play a game called Hounds and Jackles using a board on rests on four carved legs. Among the playing pieces there are five pins with hounds' heads and five with jackals' heads. The board is shaped like an axe-blade, and there are 58 holes in the upper surface with an incised palm tree topped by a shen sign in the center. The aim of the game is to dominate the Jackles if you are a hound, or vise versa, almost like checkers, but with less pieces.

It takes an additional day for travel plans to be finalized with the caravan traders who know the desert and her whims better than anyone else. It's vital Gaara get all this information from all these sources before they even think of setting out.

Sakura suspects Gaara is dragging his feet for more time with her, but doesn't raise issue with it because she wanted to be selfish too. She wanted the days of rest before another battle.

Still, she couldn't believe in the respite. She couldn't calm herself to not duck into shadows and hold her breath while palace guards pass by. Every night when she entered the dream she braced for an attack or an adventure, but was met by neither.

Sai was the one that found her in the water gardens, sitting on a stone looking out at the Nile.

"I don't trust this dreadful world," she told Sai.

Sakura dreamed up her bone sword and turned it over to study the new designs etched into the sheath while drawing the blad out slowly. There were new designs that looked like an Eagle holding the sun in his claws. She didn't understand it.

"After all the hurt you've endured don't you think it is time this world cut you a break?" Sai asked her after she admitted her fears.

Sakura slid the blade back and it caught in the sheath with a ringing snap.

"No.'

* * *

 **"Blood ends and blood begins.  
Blood ends and light begins.  
We are broken dams.  
We are goddamn broken.  
We are God: dams broken." **

**Jeremy Radin, from "With These Hands"**

* * *

AN:/ Rush this out. I'm in China teaching for two weeks, so I'll try to update, but i don't know how easy that will be. Take this as an airport-las minute- offering. :) ENJOY!

AN2: I rushed to get this out and messed it up-as per usual. I've re-uploaded it with the ending that was originally intended. (Assassins in the real world.) Sorry for the late update. :(

If you can, please leave me a _**review**_ to let me know you're still on board with the story and still find it interesting. I love to hear back from you and know my work is reaching people. Thank you!

* * *

Side Note: I also have a A03 account where I'll begin to start uploading stuff *coughsmutcough* (I'm super lazy) that usually shows up on my tumblr... my A03 handle is Vesperchan and of course my tumblr id is vesperlionheart in case you wanted to know.


	17. Chapter 17

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kingdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

 **Chapter 16 part 2**

* * *

Sakura hasn't come out of her room in four days and more than one elder has noticed. By the fifth day Jugo's grandfather Log has asked to see her. She covers the tattoos on the sides of her arms as well as what she can of her hands, and braces for the questions.

Log does not come alone. Homura Mitokado and even Koharu Utatane trail behind him, offering up no excuse for their presence other than they were wanting to see her when they heard Log was visiting.

Sakura feels the tattoos on her neck stand out like neon lights. She feels their eyes drawn to the lines like magnets and balls her hands up under the covers of the bedspread she is still sitting under.

"You seem to be doing well," Log states, pulling up a chair close to her bed and taking a switchblade to an apple, peeling it with skill.

Neither of the two elders offer any word but hang back like silent observers. It mades all of the survival nerves Sakura has honed while in and out of the Obelisk stand up on alert. She feels like an animal stalked by predators. They have eyes like predators.

"Well enough," Sakura answers in a soft voice, staring back at Homura Mitokado, the male elder, with no intention of backing down. She is the dangerous one, he should be the first to look away.

"You know," Log began, "I asked Jugo to keep me updated on how you were doing and if there was anything we could do to help. I'm also overseeing his chronicling. I never got to do it myself, but I was trained for it. He didn't mention the uh…that there under your chin."

"We haven't reached that part of the story yet," Sakura answered evenly, still staring the old Homura down and ignoring Koharu, the woman.

"You don't think it was important enough to mention to him right away?"

"No, I didn't,"

"You're quite humble, my dear," Log laughs, finished with the peeling and going into the slicing and cutting of the apple. "You're more extraordinary than you know."

"That's not true," she said before she knew what she meant. "I know exactly how extraordinary I am."

"So humble too," Homura grunts in a gruff tone, frowning at Sakura while adjusting himself where he stands.

Sakura frowns back, eyes narrowing into a more concentrated stare. "I'm only agreeing with what was already said. There's no need to be humble if it only serves to counteract what was already said."

'When they tell you that you're pretty, don't thank them for it. Just tell them you know and watch them squirm,' Karin once told her. Sakura misses her more than ever with a painful throb deep in her chest.

"It's fine for young kids to be full of themselves, that's what youth is all about," Log laughed, cutting up the rest of the apple. "And if anyone deserves to enjoy their youth is the kids that trudge through it, isn't that right, Homura?"

The other older man grunts, but doesn't respond verbally.

"Sakura, is there anything else we can do to help you?" Log asks, offering her the plate. Sakura watches him set it down beside her, but doesn't reach for it or pull her hands out from under the covers.

"Jugo gets me whatever I ned and Yamato and Genma both keep me safe. I'm fine."

"Well, I hope you feel well enough soon to come meet with us. We've had a meeting of the elders but you weren't there. It was so much more boring without your lively spirit. If you need something, just let us know."

Sakura thought back to Karin and Ino.

"I want to see my friends. I want to talk with them and visit them at least."

The elders passed looks to each other over her head, thinking she didn't notice. "We cal look into that," Log said. "The cell phones are a different matter, but I'll see about clearing a time where a visitor may be allowed up to one of the branch houses. Someone could escort you there for a meeting."

"When?"

Log pushed the apples closer to her. "In a few days. Your friends are busy though, aren't they. Jugo was telling me a little about them. Once things die down for them we can bring them up no problem. It's going to be Danzo we have to convince. He doesn't want to risk your safety."

Sakura wants to turn and glare at Log, but she's still staring hard at Homura, unwilling to look away first. It's at the mention of Danzo that the old man shows the first signs of maybe looking away. There was a flinch in his posture.

Somehow this convinced Sakura to like Danzo more, if he made Homura uncomfortable. She remembered that Danzo was the dangerous one, the one who took care of the assassins and protection in their cult like group. Shinobi, he called them. That's what Yamato and Genma both were.

"Why can't I go down to them?" Sakura asked.

"It's too dangerous."

Sakura clicks her tongue loudly. "That's such a sorry excuse. I nearly die each night when I go to sleep. These Obelisk dreams are trying to kill me and have been doing so since day one over two years ago. I've never needed such protection before."

"That was before we knew about you and the Obelisk being active. If we had known back then, we would have been far more vigilant with your safety earlier on."

"I believe you," Sakura answers, meaning nothing good by it.

She knows enough to understand that the same group that wants to protect her is made up of some of the same people who want to do her harm, to prevent the Obelisk from crowning a new god-should Sakura ever get that far. Killing another god and getting its tattoo would upset a few of them, she knew.

"We really want what's best for you, sweetie," Log says.

Sakura hates how Homura wont' look away and she hates how the old woman stands beside him, silent as a stone but watching everyone else as they speak, actively observing. She doesn't trust either of them and even Log seems to grow more creepy the longer he stays close to her. She didn't trust Danzo either, but out of all of them, he was the one she trusted the most because of both Yamato and Genma.

Sakura dropped her eyes and looked away first, hating herself for it. "I'm tired from my dreams. They've been especially difficult these past few nights. I want to rest before I have to go back into them, please."

"Of course dear. I can only imagine what you must be feeling right now with all that's going on. I don't understand it and Jugo doesn't tell me anything, but I'll believe what you say about being tired. You deserve your rest. We won't bother you anymore."

He stood up and pushed the chair back against the wall with an easy going smile. The other two elders turned and headed out of the room first, but it was Log that paused on the threshold to look back. "Go to sleep early. It might be best to face it head on, yeah?"

So Sakura skipped dinner and ended up sleeping early. The palace was mildly busy as Gaara declared he was almost ready to depart once the sandstorm passed.

"Can't he just make that part stop?" Sakura asked Sai, watching the sand swallow up the desert in an angry wall of brown.

"It would exhaust him too much. Better to wait it out, he says. Why aren't you asking him yourself?"

Sakura shrugged. "Didn't feel like looking for him. Also, I had a question to ask you about these god marks or whatever we're calling them now. Is there a way I can…turn them off in the real world?"

"Turn them off?"

"You know, when I'm in the dream world I can just cover them with a layer of skin and thought. I don't get why they stand out in the real world for everyone to see."

"But that's the point, so people see."

"Yeah, well people seeing isn't a good thing for me right now," Sakura confessed with a shiver. "I have a bad feeling about things. Those creepy elders came to see me this morning and saw my neck with the tattoo. They didn't ask about it too much, like I though they would, but it was something they wanted to know about, I could tell."

Sai looked her over with a newly critical gaze. "You think they would put you in danger?"

"I think one of them is the danger."

"Then covering up wouldn't do you much good now, would it?"

Sakura waved Sai off with a 'whatever' muttered under her breath and turned back to the hallways to find one that led her to Gaara. She wanted to get to the Obelisk as soon as possible and she needed to take him with her because he had the last mark needed to-

Sakura stopped where she stood, feeling a cold sweat seize her. Eyes were on her. A predator stalked her. She turned on her heel and saw nothing, heard nothing, sensed nothing. Something was wrong but nothing was wrong in the world around her. Her heart hammered as her eyes continued to rove, but the more she looked the less it made sense.

"Sakura?" Sai could see her from the hallway she had just left and he was calling out to her in a tone of concern. He didn't seem to sense any danger at all either. He called out her name again and Sakura felt sick.

'Something is wrong.'

The other world.

The revelation hit her like a bullet and Sakura felt herself fall into a drum's beat as she woke up in her body with the cold sweat and rolled over just in time to miss the body reaching for her. There were three of them, no four bodies in the room, but one was down on the floor bleeding out. A gun with a silencer on the end had been kicked under the dresser while Genma wrestled with the man who had nearly fallen atop her in bed.

There was one dead body on the floor, masked all in black.

Genma was bleeding.

The man struggling with Genma drew back quickly and Sakura heard the knife cutting flesh as Genma clutched at his chest and crumpled.

The man looked up to Sakura now, blade still weeping with Genma's blood.

This wasn't a dream, this was the waking world, and Genma was on her floor bleeding out. She could see the red pooling out all around him, following the groves of wood.

The man advanced but all Sakura could see was Genma's still body. It was too dark to tell if he was breathing or not. He was bleeding but she couldn't tell if he was breathing anymore.

This was the real world and Genma wouldn't come back again if he died _here_.

The man grabbed her throat and Sakura felt the knife there. He didn't hesitate and the pressure was quick, but the knife didn't slice her colored neck in time.

 _This was the real world._

 _Genma was on the floor._

The assailant in black choked, writing in place as more and more smoke from Sakura poured into him, thick black and sparking with veins of gold light from an old sort of ichor.

This was the real world.

Genma wasn't moving.

Sakura's tattoos were burning on her body.

The assassin gagged louder, head twisting painfully as the smoke lifted him off his feet and then yanked him down onto the ground where his neck broke in two places with a deep snapping sound.

This was the real world and Sakura felt on fire.


	18. Chapter 18

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

Why aren't you with me? Oh, why? I do want you so frightfully.

— Vita Sackville-West, "Letter to Virginia Woolf," 29 January 1927

* * *

Recap: There was one dead body on the floor, masked all in black.

Genma was bleeding.

The man struggling with Genma drew back quickly and Sakura heard the knife cutting flesh as Genma clutched at his chest and man looked up to Sakura now, blade still weeping with Genma's blood.

This wasn't a dream, this was the waking world, and Genma was on her floor bleeding out. She could see the red pooling out all around him, following the groves of wood.

The man advanced but all Sakura could see was Genma's still body. It was too dark to tell if he was breathing or not. He was bleeding but she couldn't tell if he was breathing anymore.

This was the real world and Genma wouldn't come back again if he died _here_.

The man grabbed her throat and Sakura felt the knife there. He didn't hesitate and the pressure was quick, but the knife didn't slice her colored neck in time.

 _This was the real world._

 _Genma was on the floor._

The assailant in black choked, writing in place as more and more smoke from Sakura poured into him, thick black and sparking with veins of gold light from an old sort of ichor.

This was the real world.

Genma wasn't moving.

Sakura's tattoos were burning on her body.

The assassin gagged louder, head twisting painfully as the smoke lifted him off his feet and then yanked him down onto the ground where his neck broke in two places with a deep snapping sound.

 _ **This was the real world and Sakura felt on fire.**_

* * *

Sakura grabbed for her friend and turned him over. She never felt more relieved then when he coughed and groaned in her arms before breathing heavily, eyes fluttering open.

"Oh God," he whispered, looking to her. "You're safe. Thank-" his voice dissolved into coughs and Sakura could feel the blood seeping into her hand as she pressed it to his chest.

"You're hurt. We need to get you help."

Genma sat up with her help, but didn't look to her as his eyes took in all the details of the room available to him. "It's worse than it looks, shallow wounds usually are. I'm more worried about the ribs. I think one's broken. Where is the last one?"

Sakura helped him stand and with the new perspective he could see over her bed where the body crumpled at an odd angle on the floor, neck painfully mouth, nose, and ear areas were all tinted black with soot from the smoke's escape.

"How?"

Sakura could still feel the heat from each of her new tattoos and didn't want to answer. "It's not important right now, we need to get you help."

Genma stood and gripped the sides of her arms, stopping her and forcing her to face him. He took in her face, touching her cheeks and checking for injuries and signs of shock in textbook fashion. "You're really alright?"

She couldn't help but laugh. "This is hardly the worst thing that's ever happened to me, honey."

"Not here in the real world?" he challenged.

"Its not like I feel that much of a difference anymore. Can you walk?"

He nodded, leaving her support to stand on his own. He held his one side where the ribs were likely broken and took a few steps before dropping his hands and nodding. He held out his hand for her to take as the pair of them picked their way over the fallen bodies. Genma kicked out the gun that had fallen in the scuffle and pocketed it.

"I have a terrible feeling about tonight. Several of the elders left the compound this afternoon. I don't think that was coincidence and neither did Danzo."

She felt her heart hammer as the pair made their way out into the hallway. "Yamato and Danzo, the two of them were together, weren't they?"

He held her hand more for the contact than anything else, tugging her along. "They're fine I'm sure. He's in no danger if the two of them were together. Yamato is a bit more of a badass than you would expect, and Danzo isn't just some old guy."

"What about Jugo and his grandfather Log? They're not special ops like you guys." She hated how scared she sounded all of a sudden.

At her words Genma froze in the hallway. Looking to her he tugged on her hand again and backtracked down a different hallway to where Jugo's room was. There were several different rooms with the doors left open, but one on the end of the left side was still closed and locked.

"Oi, Jugo, you alive in there?" The question was paired with a heavy banging of tired fists on wood. Genma didn't care about being quiet anymore, but constantly glanced about, searching the halls for signs of their next attack.

"You think there will be more?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know. Thinking about numbers, I wouldn't have sent just two people in to kill a person I knew was guarded. I don't think this is over just yet."

"This is funny. I'm used to this being the safe world, but right now things are reversed." She wondered if this was also part of the dream somehow, and that the assassins were nothing more than nightmares made flesh by the power of the Obelisk.

Her thoughts cut off as Jugo yanked the door open with a dark scowl and bleary eyes that didn't see clearly.

"I'm going to kill you," Jugo growled, swaying a bit on his feet. He looked like they woke him from a deep sleep that hadn't quite yet surrendered it's hold on the boy.

"Get in line, sleeping beauty, someone else just tried. You look safe though."

Jugo blinked, starting to see the world more clearly in the dim moonlight before Sakura rushed forward and grabbed him around the chest and hugged him tight. "You're safe," she breathed.

Jugo snapped awake and hugged her back, arms snapping around her like locks as he gazed over her shoulder to Genma who was still bleeding from the front of his shirt, though not terribly. He hadn't lied about it being a shallow wound.

"No," Jugo breathed on a broken whisper. "No, they didn't."

"Someone did. We're joining up with Danzo and Yamato but someone insisted on making sure you were alive, so you're our pit stop. You coming?"

"Like this?"

Jugo pulled out of the hug to notice how little he was wearing, basketball shorts and no shirt. He started to flush a dark shade when he noticed how little Sakura wore, just a long blue nightshirt that stopped several inches about the knee, showing off ample thigh. Genma was the only one actually dressed, but Jugo was the only one who seemed to care.

"J-just give me a sec to grab a sh-shirt,' he coughed, scrambling to find something discard on the floor he could slip on.

"Hurry," Genma hissed, reaching for Sakura again and tugging her closer as he scanned the halls.

The pair of them were ready in less than a minute and moving just as soon. Genma's steps only became more rushed when he noticed the door to Danzo's room had been left open to swing wide. She heard his breath of surprise before they all looked in and saw two more bodies clothed in black dead on the floor. Danzo sat in a chair at his desk with his cane between knees, looking peaceful.

"You brought her here safely, good work," the old man congratulated when he heard them come in. He looked Genma over and grunted at the sight of wounds. "You had best clean that up in the bathroom, young man."

Genma ushered the other two in and shut the door behind them, locking them in safely.

"Where's Yamato?" Sakura asked, expression worried when she didn't immediately see the other occupant of the room. She glanced behind her at the locked door and then at the bodies on the floor.

"He's out worrying about you, I take it. He ran off as soon as there was an opportunity to. He's smart enough to run back here once he realizes what happened." He pointed with his cane to one of the couches. "Have a seat?"

Jugo took her arm and led her over, shaking at the sight of the bodies. He tried to be helpful and supportive, but Sakura found herself grabbing his head to tuck into her shoulder and cut off his staring of the dead bodies. She lowered him to a seat beside her and rubbed circles into his back. From where he sat Danzo chuckled.

"Is it your first time seeing a dead body?" he asked Jugo, sounding far too delighted with the boy's reaction.

"No," Jugo whispered. But he glanced over Sakura's shoulder once more at the still forms before screwing his eyes shut. "I'm fine."

"It's okay that you still find it disturbing," Sakura whispered next to his head, still rubbing circles into his back. It's a good thing for this to still be shocking."

Jugo chuckled dryly. "You're not even phased, are you?"

Sakura looked up, feeling Danzo's attention. "It's been a bloody two years more or less, but it's still disturbing to me, I just deal with it differently. I know if I freak out it's worse than if I keep my cool."

"I know that too."

"Ah," Danzo interjected, raising his cane. "But does your body know? The mind and the body are a relationship. What you know in your head needs to be known in you bones and the fibers of your flesh. It's what separates the experienced from the novice."

Sakura could feel Jugo tense under her fingers and ran the hand on his back up into his hair. "If it makes you feel better, I also freaked out a little when I thought Genma was dead."

There was a clattering in the bathroom next door and Genma popped his head out a second later. "I didn't look dead!" he protested, standing shirtless with several bandages in the appropriate places.

She grinned, tiredly. "I know, but I was scared, so that's what I thought at first. This is not the dream world of the Obelisk. If you die here it's not like I can see you again once I make it to the next kingdom or gate. You're a bit more important than that."

"What of you, Sakura?" Jugo asked, sitting up and touching her shoulder. "You're supposed to be in that world now. What happened?"

"It's fine. Nothing major is happening right now. We're resting at the palace and I'm waiting on Gaara to get things put together to set out again. I was talking to Sai when I started to feel funny, like I was in danger. I was in a cold sweat, short of breath, and super paranoid but there was nothing endangering me in the dream. When I realized it was something else I was able to wake up. That's when I saw the body of the one assassin and Genma fighting with the other. I don't know how the dream world is doing, but it never seems to age or advance significantly without me."

Genma washed the blood off his hands with a final hand rag and then tossed it back into the bathroom before walking forward into the center of the room where the bodies lay limp and dead. He started to poke at one, pulling the face mask away, before going through their pockets.

"Anything to identify them?" Jugo asked.

Genma made a face before answering. "We'll run their prints later, but if its anything like the last few times, there won't be anything coming up. This guy has partial prints anyway."

There was banging on the door that made Jugo flinch, but Danzo and Sakura only turned to look with matching blank looks while Genma stood from the bodies to get the door. He checked with a special knock before swinging the door open and allowing Yamato to stumble in.

"Is she-Sakura! You're safe." He seemed to deflate where he stood as a bead of sweat rolled off the edge of his face. "I saw your room, I was worried."

She offered a comforting smile. "Me too. Genma did a good job though. I was safe."

"With or without me, right?" Genma joked, smiling slyly.

Danzo's gaze latched onto her like a lego piece fitting perfectly in a place made for it. Yamato was no different.

"Wha-?" Jugo breathed. "What are you talking about?"

Yamato swallowed, glancing sideways at Genma. "That second body then…the one with soot in all its orifices…"

"Your pretty little dreamer," Genma said, pointing his fingers like guns in her direction with a wink. "Bad ass both in and out of all your dreams, my friend."

Jugo looked the most lost out of all of them. "How?"

Danzo stood and stepped over the bodies before stoping just out of arm's reach of Sakura. Slowly, he lifted his cane and tugged up the sleeve of her night shirt up over her shoulder to show off the Egyptian Eye and star band below it. "Is this number three or is there a fourth one hidden on your back."

"You knew where to look for the tattoos?" Sakura asked, leaning away from his walking cane to let her sleeves fall back down. When he hummed in reply she turned her hands over and curled her fingers. The matching black marks on her fingers showed. "Yeah, that's number three. Gaara has the fourth tattoo and he's helping me with the storm, so it's…almost over."

Jugo went cold beside her. "Sakura."

"Who else knew this?" Danzo asked, leaning forward on his cane once more, no longer sitting.

Sakura shrugged. "No one _I_ knew about. I tried to keep it as hidden as possible because of something like this. No good seems to come from showing your hand, it seems."

"Wise words," Danzo agreed.

He turned back to his chair and carefully moved himself back down into a sitting position where he could ease the strain on his body like a man older than what he was. He seemed aged since the last Sakura saw him, and she wondered if that had something to do with the attack on her life.

"But you mentioned Gaara dragging his feet when we last spoke. Is that…what you were talking about? Is he taking you to the Obelisk, finally?" Jugo breathed. "The end?"

Sakura ducked her head, realizing that she had been found out by the people she claimed to trust. She had kept this secret from even them and it likely wounded Jugo's pride at least. "Yeah. He seemed to want to drag it out and Sai said something about him appreciating being awake and useful for once. So few make it to the Kingdom of Gods, he said."

"No, it's more than just that!" Jugo's voice hitched and picked up. "Sakura, Gaara made it to the Obelisk in his journals. That's where he finally died."

Sakura felt herself become a single question. "How?"

* * *

Sakura came back into the dream where she left it, but the hallway was empty and the day was barely aged. Sai was gone, but she knew she needed to find Gaara. Based on what Jugo told her, there was something worse at the Obelisk waiting for her than any of the other bastard gods or god killers.

Of course.

How dare she think anything inside the nightmare that was the Obelisk trials was ever going to be that easy. She should have known better. The worst boss is always saved for the end of the video game.

The sandstorm was abated, but Sakura could see it still swirling far off on the horizon. The pools would be clear enough to visit, so that's where she went, feeling somewhere in her gut that was where she needed to go.

Sure enough Gaara was sitting crouched down at the edge of the pool with his feet in the water, watching his reflection as he held onto his tall crown.

Sakura didn't bother to hide her approach and purposefully scuffed her feet for sound he was far too sensitive to. Like painful clockwork, he turned and his eyes widened at the sight of her safe and sound.

"You're unhurt!" he exclaimed, tossing his crown to the side and climbing out of the water. "Sai said you were just-gone. What..?" His words got caught in his throat.

Sakura waved it off and came over to stand beside him, moving to sit on the same ledge he had just stood up from. She dipped her toes into the water and pushed away the ripples that bloomed around her ankles as she sank further. "It's fine, obviously." Once seated she pat the ledge beside her, inviting him to sit again.

"Were you in danger?" Gaara asked as he accepted her invitation.

"Yeah, but we took care of it. Apparently these god powers can be used in life threatening situations in the waking world. No one ever told me that before."

"Likely because they didn't want you to use them." Gaara waved his hand and the tiny grains of sand floating in the water were blown away leaving the pools clear once more.

"Yeah, well I was trying to hide the new tattoos from them too so it's a family of secrets, I guess. It's a mess, Gaara. I don't know who's out to get me, and I trust so few."

"Trust fewer."

She smiled sadly. "That's a sad life that I just can't live."

"I know that painfully well. Sasuke was asking after you again and not even the dancer girls seem to distract him for that long. I am tempted to think it was better you just leave him be, but I'll admit I've never seen this outcome before."

Sakura couldn't help but fall back into a painful thought. "Sasuke was able to defy his script and reject the role he was assigned in this world as an actor. He rebelled. Pity Sasori couldn't have done the same sooner."

Gaara watched her carefully. "Yes. Pity." His hand reached for hers and she felt his fingers weave in between hers.

Sakura sat in the calm of the moment before breathing deep. "Gaara, what waits me in the center of the storm?"

"You mean the final Obelisk?"

She nodded, still staring out across the horizon, feeling his fingers around hers but not looking to see what sort of face he was making for her.

"It's godhood…a guaranteed death." His fingers shook and turned tight around her. "There's nothing you can do there and that's how the game is. It's rigged, always has been and always will be."

She looked over to see his shoulders hunched and face twisted painfully. "Gaara, what are you talking about. You never recorded what happened at the end into your journals before you died, so I don't know if you don't tell me. What happens at the end that makes you think it's an instant death for me?"

He looked off to the side, away from her. Sakura tugged on the hand still holding her and reached with her free hand to touch his face and guide it back to her. His eyes were shaking and wet with new tears.

"It's not fair," he whispered. "You're going to go after that thing no matter what I say, aren't you?"

"I can't stay in this dream world forever. My life is in danger here."

"That's not true, this is the safest you will ever be. The bastard gods are all dead, Sasuke is an ally now. The king of thieves is dead and even the Dream Killer is a ghost without a body to fit into. I'm here beside you to protect you when you can't do it yourself. The enemy has run out of pieces to play apart from his last one. More than any other world, this close to the end, you are safe."

"That sounds an awful lot like what Madara tried to sell me at the end of the Kingdom of Monsters."

"Because he knew better. He knew what happened at the end even if he didn't make it there. That's why he and I are the only self aware actors in the whole dream. He knew there was no winning, that the game was stacked from the beginning. Listen, the whole thing is a test to see if mortals are worthy of godhood."

"That much I know now," Sakura said.

"But there are no mortals that are capable of godhood! Even if you're worthy…even if you make it to the end, to that spring at the heart of the Obelisk where the fruit dangles, once you partake the godhood you realize it right away, there is no space in you that can store all that power. You're human and you'll never be a god and there is nothing that changes that. Even if you make it there, even if you win, there is no way you could survive trying to claim your prize."

Sakura felt a cold fear settle in behind her heart. "What do you mean?"

"You're never worthy, never enough." He pulled her closer, tugging on her shoulder until their foreheads touched. "There was never any hope from the beginning, but you don't deserve this harsh truth. I'm so sorry."

"There has to be a way," Sakura whispered, voice pleading for the desperation of her friend. "There is always a way."

"Not for us. We've killed and dirtied our hands, haven't we?"

 _Sakura helped him stand and with the new perspective he could see over her bed where the body crumpled at an odd angle on the floor, neck painfully mouth, nose, and ear areas were all tinted black with soot from the smoke's escape._

 _"_ Shit _."_

Gaara's eyes softened, looking into hers so close. "It's not fair," he admitted. "I thought I would be a god, bloody and cruel and terrifying like the ancients themselves. But I remember too well how that power tore me asunder and there was nothing left of me. I made it all the way to the end and there was nothing to show for it. I've been damed here ever since until you. It's been a terrible cycle until you. Don't become a part of it."

But she already was. There wasn't a way out of it. "Gaara…I have to."

His eyes flashed. "No, don't become a part of it, Sakura. There are ways out. A substitute-"

Sakura reeled back but he tugged on the hand he had his fingers in, keeping her from running off. "They've already talked to me about that and the answer hasn't changed. I don't care. I'm not going to go down that road."

"You'll die and become a slave in this world. Even if you're like me, even if you're self aware, it's ages of darkness and absences. There are no sensations, no hopes, no escape. You can't suffer like that for eternity with us."

Sakura grimaced and then knelt back down beside him. She bowed her head to him and let their eyes stay level. "I'm not going to, Gaara. I understand none of this is fair, but that's not me. I can't give up hope this time either."

"Don't go to the Obelisk in the desert. Stay here with me and that brat and your friend. We'll play board games every night. I'll give you a kingdom to love. I'll fill your tables with food and nectar. I will dress you in silks and gold. You will never know want again. You will be loved all your days."

"I've heard this story before," Sakura sighed, hating how hard it still was to turn down the offer from Madara.

She was badly tempted. The world around her was terrible and a rest was attractive. She wanted to quite and be done, but there would always be a part of her that knew what was right and what she needed to do even if it was hard. She hated and loved that part of her. The moral compass in the center of her heart ripped painfully into her sides whenever she turned down the wrong path.

"You can't."

"Gaara…"

"No! You'll die. There is nothing there for you but your death. There is no hope for you there and you need to understand that I can't watch you throw your precious life away when you don't even understand the value of it. You-yo-you are, you are everything this wretched world doesn't deserve. Sasuke didn't deserve you, Sasori didn't deserve you, and this dream doesn't deserve you."

Sakura swallowed, still connected by interlocked fingers to the boy who looked smaller and weaker than she ever remembered seeing him. "I know you're trying to protect me, Gaara. I know you believe what you're doing is for the best."

His voice was a strangled whisper. "Don't."

"I still have to see this through."

She thought of the way Sai looked at her saw something worth believing in. Sai, the Sigh of Dejection who knew the secrets of the Obelisk, he believed in her. She had to believe in herself too. It was hard to find that sort of confidence for herself…it felt too much like pride, but Sakura knew it would be vital to her survival. Because she would survive. She would win. She would be the one that could. She had to.

Also, the real world she was awake for was becoming more and more dangerous. She didn't know how many more days she had until another assassination attempt and she didn't want to wait around to find out.

"I don't want to have to watch you die."

Sakura felt her heart crumple into her chest. She pulled Gaara into her arms and folded him into the curve of her. He started to cry and she let him.

The sun speared the dark sand clouds and light from a new sunset turned the desert to fire. Sakura felt the light fall on her and bowed her head atop Gaara's, watching as his hair seemed to ignite against the sunlight.

She didn't tell him to believe in her or ask him to understand, but let him cry it out. There were tears for her and tears for himself. He didn't want to watch her die, but Sakura knew there was more to it than just that. He didn't want to have to die. He didn't want to be bound by an unfair trail where there never was any hope. A lifetime of frustrations spilled onto her dress.

Behind her, back at the edge of the palace, she spotted Sai leaning against a wall watching the pair of them. His expression was neutral and she couldn't tell if he knew what they were talking about or not. He caught her staring back at him and shifted, nodding once and slipping back away, giving them their moment alone.

After a while the sun was half consumed on the horizon and Gaara had no more tears to shed.

"Better?" Sakura asked, playing with the curls of his hair.

Gaara shook his head, burying it deeper into her shoulder. "I hate my hair."

"I love your hair," she chuckled.

His face grew warm where it hid and Sakura bit back her smile. She heard him mutter something and pretended she didn't, fingers trailing lazy lines across the curve of his scalp. After a beat of silence he pulled out of her arms just enough to see her face before he pushed himself forward onto her lips.

Sakura shouldn't have been surprised, but she was. He kissed her, moving his mouth against hers with the full force of his frustrations and desperation. His lips trembled on hers, but still managed to force her's into a dace. She let him, closing her eyes to it and going along.

There was only a knife's edge of sun above the horizon when he pulled away to breath, flushed and panting. Sakura was a bit pink in the face as well, eyes hazy.

"It's not fair, but I love you," he repeated, tugging her closer.

There wasn't a lot of time left for her in the dream and she knew it. She also knew it wasn't fair to let him go on any further when her feelings were still wrapped up around a different redhead. But he had cried for her and she didn't have the heart to push him away and hurt him any more than she already had.

"I have to go to the Obelisk."

He pulled her down, lips on her neck, kisses like butterflies up along the curve. She reached for the front of his tunic and her nails dug in on reflex, making him smirk in victory.

"I know," he whispered back, trailing kissed over her collarbone, following the pattern of the black sun rays painted like hands. He tugged the front of her dress down just enough to kiss the space under the hollow of her collarbone, making her catch a breath and hold on tighter. His other hand was on her waist, thumb rubbing circles into her hip and dipping low-lower.

"I won't stay here with you forever."

"And I won't let you go alone. I'm with you, wherever you wander, until the end of it all."

Sakura gasped at his touch and like an arrow drawn too far back on a hunter's bow, she felt herself shot out of the dream. She woke up on a gasp and Jugo looked up from his work to see her come back so dramatically.

"Sakura, are you hurt?" he was quick to ask, rushing for her side.

She tugged on the sheets around her, dragging them up and bending into them. "No, no, I'm fine. I'm back. It's fine." She closed her eyes and rubbed the palms of her hands into her eyes. "It's fine. I just need to clean up and wake up."

A cold shower would do her good.

* * *

Sakura had lost weight but not enough that her old things didn't fit her anymore. She combed back the half of her head that still had soft curls of hair to brush and painted her eyes with black liquid liner the way Ino had taught her to so many years ago, back in high school when they were trying to be that extra on the weekends.

Carefully, like a ritual, Sakura peeled open her make up bag and used everything in it, taking her time to dress herself up. She wasn't an expert or anything like Ino, and didn't have the same amount of practice as someone like Karin, but Sakura knew what she was doing as she painted herself into a masterpiece.

There was a black gauze long sleeve shirt that did nothing to hide what lay beneath it, other than color her skin darkly. When Sakura wore it, her black bra was clearly visible as well as the winged goddess below her breasts, the eyes on her shoulders, and the hands down the length of her neck. Nothing was concealed anymore.

In the mirror she looked as terrifying and bad ass as she believed herself to be.

"Time to take it to them," she said aloud.

Jugo was waiting for her on the other side and Yamato was at the door. Jugo looked up first, but Sakura knew that Yamato heard her too when he shifted his posture towards her, listening.

"Are you ready?" Jugo asked, standing up. He licked his lips and then swallowed nervously. "You look ready to murder someone."

"I take it that means I look good," Sakura chuckled.

"I mean yeah, that too, but your posture is like…murder ready."

She smiled easily and fell into step alongside him. "It might be that sort of day for me. I'm no sure yet, I guess it depends on what they have to say to me."

"And how they answer when you ask about why and where they left last night," he added.

Sakura hummed in acknowledgment. " _If_ that comes up. I think I'm perfectly content to let them dig their own grave. Let's see who the first person is that says it's good to see me, neh?"

Yamato chuckled, letting them pass him as they all headed out the door. "I am glad I get to see this."

"I never took you for a sadist," Jugo commented dryly.

"Not interested in their suffering, just Sakura coming back to her usual self, bad ass and beyond controlling." He looked to Sakura and addressed her. "I'm glad you're doing better about all this. Someone tries to take your life and you don't let it bring you down, do you?"

"Like I said before, it's not the first time and I don't think it'll be the last." She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck before turning it sideways enough to make it pop. "And I'm sick and tired of being depressed all the time. It's not healthy and I'm no good to anyone being less than my very best."

The trio walked through the compound, coming up upon the sliding rice paper doors that lead into the meeting room that doubled as a tea room when the times were different. As Sakura planned, they were the last to arrive. She had taken so long getting ready she was sure there would be nobody else they needed to wait for.

Genma and Danzo were seated next to each other at one end of the room, but Yamato stayed with Sakura all the way until she sat down in her seat at the head. Jugo went to his grandfather's side which was close to where Sakura sat.

"Oh good," Sakura murmured. She reached forward to pluck a peach off the plate in front of her. "There's food here this time."

"We're glad to see you like them," Log said from beside his grandson, smiling to Jugo and then to Sakura. "The apples aren't in season just yet."

"Soon, though," Sakura said into the skin of her peach before biting down. The juices dribbled off her chin fast but her make up didn't smear a bit. "I'm looking forward to the harvest."

"Speaking of harvest, it appears you've reaped some without mentioning it to us."

Sakura looked up through her lashes at the old man at the direct end of the table. Homura Mitokado glared back at her, with the equally displeased Koharu Utatane sitting opposite Danzo to his right. Though, Koharu looked more displeased with the way she was dressed. The old woman was a bit more conservative when it came to appearances.

"Whatever could you mean?" Sakura coyly asked, looking to Homura.

He huffed in agitation. "You mean to mock us as if this were some trivial situation."

"You mean this isn't a trivial situation? I thought this was only tea with the seniors. Or were you referring to something else?"

"We are not as blind as you would believe us, my dear," Koharu said, not unkindly. The dead in the compound are nameless and faceless, but they are not unnoticed."

"You are well informed then," Sakura answered.

"Yet not well enough," cut in Homura. "You will be made to provide a summery of events. What transpired in our absence and what you did about it."

Sakura all but snorted. "What makes you think I did anything about it? I have people with me all the time in case something does happen. Danzo is the one you should be asking, yet you demand answers from me."

"You are refusing to answer."

Sakura bit into her peach again and let more juice run. "You're too loud."

Homura's eyes went wide as he looked to Log for guidance. His expression was of angry disbelief. Log raised his hands, trying to be placating before someone started shouting. Sakura bit deeper into her peach with her teeth.

It was actually Danzo who spoke up next.

"The incident last night was minor and has been dealt with. There is no need for a scene to be made like this, gentlemen. Nor is there a need for a meeting like this. Log, you indulge too much."

"I think it would be best for everyone if we opened the veins of communication a bit more. Sakura, Homura doesn't mean to offend, but he would like to hear from you what happened and what you know. Also, for myself, I would like to hear how you are doing in the dream world. You've not yet caught up with Jugo in regards to current affairs inside the dream."

"It is a work in progress," Sakura admitted. "There was a lot for your grandson to record from previous kingdoms and this recording work is not simple or easy. If you have a question for me you can ask it."

"Did you kill another god?" Koharu asked, surprising everyone else in the room. This had been the first time she spoke up. Sakura noted that her hair was perfectly rolled into a bun and on her ears there were pearls large enough to choke on.

Sakura ran a thumb under her lower lip and wiped away some of the juice. "Yes, I did. That's where the new tattoos came from. Anything else?"

"The haircut?" She raised a single brow in question.

"That's something I wanted to do." Sakura cocked her own brow in response. "You have a problem with that?"

Koharu closed her eyes and turned her face away from Sakura without responding. There was plenty of judgement there, held back behind her teeth.

"Then how about the reason you withheld this information from us?" asked Homura. "This situation will impact not only you but everyone here at this meeting. This is our legacy, a legacy we have hoped to leave buried. You don't seem to understand that."

"I'm sorry," Sakura began, voice soft and even. "You want to talk about who this impacts?"

"You think this protection and catering is simply for the fun of it?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Ah, you think because you provide me with a roof over my head and food on my plate that I owe you the intimacies of my dreams."

He leaned back in his seat and brought the small white cup of sake to his lips. "Don't trivialize it so. These are not dreams we speak of, but the works of a curse older than the ages, containing the unbidden spirit of the divines. You treat too much like a game. If these powers are to come into the world we should know how and where and when."

"You think there's a chance someone could actually win these trials. Say then, would would it mean to you if right now, right here, the trials were won and I became the nightmare you fear. Would you want me dead, or would you try to endear yourself to me at long last?" Sakura mocked, tilting up her chin. "Because I think that ship has sailed, old man. I don't like you, any of you for that matter, no matter how well you mean."

Log looked hurt, offering up a single hand as if to placate her, but Sakura stood and the hand fell away.

"I'm leaving. I'm going back to my grandmother's house, where it all started, right now."

Several head turned quickly, searching in fear for an explanation as Sakura got up to leave. She made it to the door before a hand reached out and stopped the door from sliding out. Sakura glared hard at the man who worked for Log, but the nameless worker didn't move.

"You are not your own, girl. It's the price you pay for playing with powers beyond your understanding, Koharu said, speaking up finally. Her voice was not as sharp as it could be.

"What, you saying I asked for this? You think I knew or ever wanted something like this?" Sakura mocked.

"The Obelisk would not have gone to such troubles to break out of the wards and bindings your own grandmother put on it for anyone else. Your heart called to it, or your grandmother destined you for it. Either way, there is a responsibility there you refuse to see. Deny it all you like, the ink still bleeds black."

"I didn't ask for any of this, and I am not to blame for these trials," Sakura hissed. She tried the door once more. "Let me out!"

"You are not leaving as long as those stains mark your body," Homura said, standing and turning to face her. "Log…"

The older man stood and smiled apologetically to Jugo who looked as lost as anyone before facing Sakura. "I'm sorry it has to come out like this, but Sakura you are safer here. The world won't understand when you go sleepwalking next, or wake up with lion bites on your ribcage."

"I managed just fine for nearly two years."

"You were in the hospital when I found you, honey."

Sakura huffed, turning to Danzo. Her eyes were full of questions that came out looking like demands. She was done asking for things. "And what are you going to do about it? I'm leaving."

It was the first thing he said the entire meeting, and when he spoke he didn't meet her eyes. "They're terrible people, Sakura. You are right to see that. However, I believe that as long as you are close to me and my own, that is best. I will not let their dirty shinobi touch you."

Sakura was nearly unable to suppress a growl as she turned her eyes to Genma and Yamato, but she didn't address either of them. Instead she spoke to Danzo, never once meeting his eyes.

Done.

"Fine then. If you want it like this, then know that I never trusted you. Know I never trusted any of you."

"The dreams will do that to a person," Log said, sounding as if he was trying to make an excuse for her. It was as if he didn't think her words meant anything because they were said in anger. It was terrible how familiar that felt, to have a man excuse the words of another because she was meerly angry. There is still truth in anger, sometimes too much truth.

"I'm going back home."

She tried the door and the worker let her slid it back. Sakura stalked out, her footfalls heavier than they needed to be. She got to the end of the house and stepped outside, only to be stopped by a wall of bodies. Over a dozen workers on the apple orchard, usually out of sight and busy, stood shoulder to shoulder, staring her down. It made her stop on the threshold and still.

"What is this?"

She turned around and stared down the hall at Homura who stood just ahead of Danzo. The first looked smug while Danzu just seemed tired the way old men always seem tired.

"You may be king in the dream world, but you're not a god here," Homura said. "Try if you like, you'll just be brought back, one way or another."

Sakura swallowed.

Danzo said nothing.

* * *

AN:/ Another update! Now you see some more of Danzo's colors? And Gaara is a bigger deal than we thought him to be in the Obelisk world. He's as close as they've ever gotten to a winner but for some reason he just wasn't worthy? Couldn't handle it? Didn't make the cut? Theories abound but the single fear most pressing is: Is Sakura worthy? Even if she wins, is the game all rigged?

If this follows the outline there are three chapters left. I outlined it really well and there are two chapters and then one kind wrap up chapter. I want to try and get this baby finished by the end of summer, but I don't know if that will happen. School has started for me and it's another shit storm-as per usual. But I think I can do it. I think I can make it.

 _The last chapter is a mess because I was in a rush to update at the airport. I apologize for that. Just ignore that. I'll go back and fix it much later when I have enough motivation or when I get harassed enough into doing it._

 _If you can, please leave me a **review** to let me know you're still on board with the story and still find it interesting. I love to hear back from you and know my work is reaching people. Thank you!_


	19. Chapter 19

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

"I don't know how to stay tender  
with this much blood in my mouth"

Emma Tranter - excerpt from heartless girls zine,

* * *

Recap: _"Fine then. If you want it like this, then know that I never trusted you. Know I never trusted any of you."_

 _"The dreams will do that to a person," Log said, sounding as if he was trying to make an excuse for her. It was as if he didn't think her words meant anything because they were said in anger. It was terrible how familiar that felt, to have a man excuse the words of another because she was meerly angry. There is still truth in anger, sometimes too much truth._

 _"I'm going back home."_

 _She tried the door and the worker let her slid it back. Sakura stalked out, her footfalls heavier than they needed to be. She got to the end of the house and stepped outside, only to be stopped by a wall of bodies. Over a dozen workers on the apple orchard, usually out of sight and busy, stood shoulder to shoulder, staring her down. It made her stop on the threshold and still._

 _"What is this?"_

 _She turned around and stared down the hall at Homura who stood just ahead of Danzo. The first looked smug while Danzu just seemed tired the way old men always seem tired._

 _"You may be king in the dream world, but you're not a god here," Homura said. "Try if you like, you'll just be brought back, one way or another."_

 _Sakura swallowed._

 _Danzo said nothing._

* * *

Yamato watched Sakura leave and moved alone with Genma to follow her back to her room, keeping their distance the whole way there.

"She's pissed," Genma sighed. He crossed his arms and leaned against the far wall while staring at her closed bedroom door.

"Of course she's pissed. She's being treated like a criminal." Yamato said.

"It's not like Danzo was super excited about this whole deal. It's spooky when even he gets unsettled and those last few attacks really came out of nowhere."

Yamato didn't say anything, but took a step closer to her door and reached out with a hand to rest his palm on the surface. He wanted to knock, to pull back the door and cross the distance that existed between him and her. He always wanted to be at her side, that hadn't changed in the years he had grown to know her and he was afraid that it would never change. He would age and die with the same stone craving in his heart to be beside her. It wasn't fair how plagued he felt sometimes.

"She doesn't want to hear anything from you or me right now, so take a step back, loverly," Genma said.

Yamato narrowed his eyes and glared back over his shoulder at Genma. "Don't talk to me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you know her better than I do."

Genma chuckled and smiled sympathetically over at his friend. "You think I don't?"

"You don't care about her like I do."

"That's not what we were talking about. Maybe you really do care about her more than me, but that doesn't mean you know her better. You're looking at her through rose colored glasses and can't see everything through clouded lenses."

Yamato dropped his hand and turned around to face Genma. He kept his voice low so it wouldn't carry, careful that others in the hall wouldn't catch their conversation. His words weren't meant for them.

"I was her friend first."

"You hit on her first, but that was close. I mean, it was a matter of minutes."

"I wasn't trying to hit on her! I was just being nice. You were the one that tried to get into her pants."

Genma's smile thinned and his eyes narrowed. "Ah, maybe, but that's not for you to say in such a self righteous tone. I know her better now and I've never been accused of going where I'm not wanted. I mean, I'm the god of going down-"

"Not important!" Yamato snapped, interrupting the older male.

"Uh, it is if someone is challenging my title. I'm pretty sure there is a plaque dedicated to me in the Pussy Cat Lounge in Hoboken for that reason, made plenty of locals pissed a city rat stole the title." Gemma waved a hand between them as if to dismiss the topic. "But whatever. I'm not sure that's Sakura's preference or whatever because it's like I said, I know her better now. I know her maybe a little better than you and I know she doesn't want to see either of us right now. She needs some time and we're frankly, a distraction from what's actually important."

Yamato felt a roll in his gut. "You're just like them, you just want to see her get through the dream or die in it. You don't care about her at all."

"You think I don't care about her because I can recognize the truth for what it is. Like it or not, that world is a part of who Sakura is. She's not a victim, she's a conqueror."

Yamato sneered at his friend. "She's miserable because of it. How can you say that? You ever read her reports, about what she's seen or gone through?"

"You mean like _Sasori_?"

The rolling in his gut dropped along with the rest of the sensation of even having a gut. "She lost a close friend. She's lost so many."

Gemma chuckled, and it was with a note of pity. "Don't kid yourself, kid. You know just as much as I do about the actors of the past and who shows up and who doesn't in these dream worlds. Sasori shouldn't have showed up more than once, but he's manifested in every kingdom so far. Same could be said for Itachi, but he's an Uchiha and he shows up often like the bastard he is, but Sasori was one that's a bit more rare."

Yamato opened his mouth to say something but Genma was faster.

"And yeah, I did read her account, but no, not with those rose colored glasses of yours. You think she was just…friends with that guy? Not a chance kid. I know her well enough to know that."

Yamato felt squeezed thin. Someone had taken all his organs and compressed them painfully and set a fire under him that made his skin flush. He swallowed and the sensation abated, but his heart still stung. His heart would sting for a while.

"He's a dead man. He's nothing."

"He's real to her, just as real as you or I by this point." Gemma shrugged. "She lives half her life in another world. Of course something like this is going to happen."

"Sakura isn't like the others. She's not settled in any of the worlds. She's advancing through all of them so quickly because she's dedicated and strong and resilient and-"His voice caught and he coughed to cover it up, but Genma wasn't fooled.

"Just give her some time on her own, man. She needs some time to focus on surviving in another world right now, and when she's ready, so will we be."

Gemma went back to leaning against the wall and watching the hallways for sign or movement. After a minute of silence he looked back over to Yamato who wasn't moving. He sighed and pushed back off the wall and grabbed his friend's shoulder. Yamato flinched, but looked up.

"I know you love her, but you're not the one who's going to make things right for her. Only she can do that. Your job is just to watch her back. Do that, and leave the rest to her."

"If I did that she'd run away," Yamato whispered.

"If the situation was any different I'd say maybe it's best to let her run…but for now, the nights aren't safe, so do me a favor and sweep the immediate perimeter will ya?"

Yamato swallowed, nodded, and turned to leave.

* * *

That night Sakura dreamed with all her anger following her into the sleeping world. She woke among a bed of silk pillows and throws, enough to make a nest around her. She climbed out, trailing a gauzy nightgown more see through than not behind her. For a minute she stood there, simmering, and the fabric melted off her into something else. When she was done, Sakura left the room in a long white dress studded with river colored jewels around the neck line. The slits up the side made it easy to walk, run, and move around in.

Sai was the first to find her and she was grateful for that. She hadn't forgotten how she had left Gaara last time or his wandering hands. He seemed more desperate than she first anticipated when it came to distracting her in attempts to keep her behind.

"You look delighted," Sai commented in a even tone that was his attempt at sarcasm. "Is that because of this world or the other?"

"Both, but mainly the waking world. Where are Gaara and Sasuke right now? I wanted to say goodbye to Sasuke before leaving with Gaara. I'm departing this dream cycle, with or without him," she said, folding her arms.

"Sasuke is still in his room, maybe drunk still? He does enjoy the vices of life."

Sakura looked to the window and saw what she had first assumed to be morning sun was really a seeing sun. It was twilight, or the ghost of time just before. It didn't make much of a difference to her when they departed, only that she depart before she wakes in the real world.

Sakura leaned out a window and waved her hand over the horizon's line. She imagianed a sting ray, long and slender with flapping wings cutting through the oceans currents, rising up out of the sand like it was meant for deserts.

A creature painted as pretty as the picture in her mind rose up out of the dunes, large enough for a handful of men to sit atop its back. Several other smaller sand rays poked up out of the sand, feeding on my dream energy. There was a whole family of them.

"Your ride?" Sai asked. When Sakura just nodded he hummed a little to himself. "How creative. You break imaginations."

Sakura looked for Sasuke's room, knowing it would be better to see him first and get it over with. Gaara would drag out their departure if he knew she wanted to say her farewells.

Sasuke's room wasn't really a bed chamber as much as it was an entertaining hall There was a couch at the foot of his bed, long and plush where he reclined, staring down to the sunken floor below him where women danced and laughed, not as drunk on wine as they were on laughter. Sasuke was a pretty enough prince to earn smiles without the wine if he so chose. He was a brat, but he was still pretty, even Sakura could see that.

He lounged like an entitled monarch among the cushions with girls on the steps, but once he saw Sakura his grin was boyish and he seemed so young. He stood up at once and jumped back over the arm of the couch to greet her at the door.

"Sakura, you came to see me. I had been looking for you but Gaara said you went back. Are you avoiding me?" his smile was easy and his words flowed off his tongue like fruit wine, smooth and easy and sweet as any nectar. He meant to sound teasing.

"I'm here to say farewell. I'm leaving for the storm at the center of the desert tonight. I hope to dispel it with Gaara's help."

Sasuke blinked and then ran a hand over his face. "Storm in the desert, oh, I didn't know you were leaving so soon. I wasn't ready. No, wait, I can have my things assembled. I can be ready in half an hour."

There was a beat before Sakura realized what Sasuke meant.

"That's not necessary. It's just Gaara and I who are going to be able to do anything at the storm, so just us are leaving."

Sasuke looked quickly to Sai and Sakura amended her earlier statement. "Also Sai, but mainly Gaara and I are just going. I came to say goodbye to you. We won't see each other after this."

Sasuke stood there for a moment looking smaller and younger than he had seconds before when his words were almost flirting and easy. "You…are leaving me behind?"

Sakura suddenly felt guilty.

"We had planned on making this trip before we knew you," she admitted.

"But, you can make room to include me, can't you? You're going towards the storm, there are demons out that way. I'm not useless, I can help." But even as he spoke his eyes went to the new tattoos on her shoulders and neck; neither set was covered.

"It's nothing terribly exciting. We thought you would be more comfortable here at the palace where it's safe and leisurely. You won't get dusty here."

Sasuke looked behind him and had the decency to flush at the sight of dancing girls still twirling across the room with streamers and goblets of sweet wine.

"How long would you be gone?" he asked in a small voice. "When would you be back?"

Sakura felt more weight in her body. She wasn't coming back. Death or hell or heaven or salvation, whatever it was that waited for her at the eye of that storm, it was the end of the road for her. She wouldn't be able to go back if she died and if she lived through it all, she would never dream of the Obelisk worlds again.

"A couple of days, maybe a few more than that," Sai answered for her.

"You'll come back?" he asked.

Sakura didn't answer while Sai looked between her and the brat prince. "I'll be safe as can be," Sakura promised, not exactly answering the question. She could tell Sasuke noticed something about her hesitation, but wasn't sure what. Her throat felt cotton swelled so she hurriedly answered. "I don't want you to worry."

"Does Gaara know you aren't coming back with him?" Sasuke asked, boyish features hardening into something more adult like and elegant. "Because it sounds like you might actually care about breaking _his_ heart or hurting _his_ feelings."

Sakura didn't say anything back and Sasuke looked away, suddenly pink in the face from his own words.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, I didn't think and I am sorry if I hurt you, but this is not a place you would want to go."

"Wanting isn't something so simple though, is it? Yeah, I like it here, but you think that's all there is to me? I don't have a crown to be crushed under anymore. For all they know and care about me, I'm dead and free to do as I wish. I don't want to waste away here forever on the smile of interchanging service girls. I don't want a kingdom any more, but I want something better than that."

"What?" Sai asked, blunt as ever. This was a new side to the Sasuke actor and he didn't want to waste time seeing more of it.

"I want…I want what Gaara has, what you have," he said looking at Sai before his eyes landed on Sakura. "I want that sense of belonging you planted when you saved me. It's a bud now, but I want more of it, so I'm leaving with you. I'll catch up if I have to, if you leave me behind."

She couldn't remember from where, but she remembered someone saying that a life saved is a life maintained. Someone in her life once believed that if you saved someone and helped them stay in the world, then that person was your responsibility, a thread was tied between you and them from then on.

Her voice came out softer than she intended. "We'll leave in half an hour. Pack your things for three days, I'll provide the rest."

* * *

Gaara was downstairs in the main throne room with Temari and Kankuro, brother and sister. The three of them were talking in hushed tones. Temari looked upset while Kankuro looked worried. Sakura didn't doubt that she was the reason for their reactions.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Temari asks as soon as Sakura is close enough to hear. "I feel like you only just got back. You were gone for days in the desert."

Temari is dressed as the high priestess and smells of burring oils meant as an offering to her favored gods. The reveal bearing lives in every line and curve of her body. She was a figure fashioned for the crown in one way or another. Sakura wondered what Temari would have been like in real life if they had ever met. Who would the sister to Gaara truly be? How much of this world would stay a part of her and how much of who she was came from the narrative of the dream.

Sakura reached for Temari's hand but grasped the forearm in a grip meant for solidarity among doesn't hesitate, but grips back, not one to be outdone.

"I've stayed here as long as I should, but it's past time for me to move on and finish my business with this world."

"You sound like you're heading for the end of the world, not some silly storm."

"Who knows, maybe they are the same thing?"

Sakura pulls Temari closer and hugs the blond girl, missing Ino and then Karin too much to not squeeze Temari with familial affection. It's been too long and Sakura misses her girls. She starts to pull away but Temari tugs Sakura back and leans in to whisper more privately.

"Don't ever feel like you're imposing on us. You're our sister and only Gaara can dare to see you as anything more."

Sakura can't help but smile, feeling a tired thread of playfulness. "Only Gaara?"

Temari's smile was equally playful. "If I thought I had a shot or was someone worth standing beside the person who saved myself and my brothers, then maybe it wouldn't be just Gaara. Be as it may, don't dismiss the boy so soon. He would do you well as a mate. He would love you well."

"I wouldn't deserve it."

Sakura doesn't know why the words came out of her, but she doesn't say anything more to Temari after the hurt look crosses through her blue eyes.

Sai comes up behind her and it's only as Temari steps aside, talking to Kankuro, that Sai leans in to say anything.

"Are you going to travel looking like that?"

"I can look however I want," Sakura sighed.

With a wave of her and the dress was gone replaced by billowing white pants cuffed at the ankles and a long sleeve cotton tunic that was thin and airy. Her gold and jewels were gone as well, and only a cloth of white cotton wrapped around her neck, waiting to be pulled up as a hood.

She looks past Sai and sees Gaara waiting and watching. He tugs on a cloth around his own neck that matches her hood. He is dressed for the desert just as well as she is.

"Are we waiting for Sasuke or are we hurrying to leave before he arrives?" Gaara asks her when she approaches.

"I'm not sure. I haven't settled my heart on this matter just yet. You think we should leave him behind?"

Gaara shot her a look that let her know exactly what he felt. He didn't want to tag along with the brat prince anymore than she originally had. Sakura had to admit that she at least had grown to tolerate Sasuke a bit better after sparing his life. He was starting to actually grow into a character that felt genuinely his own and not one assigned to him as an actor in the last kingdom.

"I want to wait for him," Sakura heard herself admit out loud.

"Fine," Gaara grumbled. "But we're leaving him behind if he's not here in the next five minutes. We can take camels or something of your own crafting."

Sakura smirk was playful. "I feel almost recidivous enough to want to ride unicorns or narwhals through the sky, but I'll restrain myself for this trip."

"Narwhals?"

Sakura waved her hand and turned her palm over to show a floating figurine made from polished stone in the shape of a narwhal. She held it up and Gaara watched it turn around in her palm. The stone melted away and it moved now in realistic color.

"They're whales with a horn that spirals out like this. They're obviously much larger and only live in the colder regions of the ocean, but they're beautiful animals. I'm surprised you didn't know about them. I thought actors had access to all of the dreamer's knowledge to help them live and operate in the constructed world."

"That's not true, not even for those actors who are self aware like Madara and myself. We only know what we are allowed to see and know from our guide, who is Baki in this world. I understand it's been many years since I was…alive, but I thought the world had outgrown mythical wonders."

"Mostly," Sakura said in a softer voice, watching Gaara watch the figure with childlike awe. He seemed so enchanted with it. "I guess there are still a few amazing things left in the world. It's just harder to see them."

"I think I would like to see the rest of your world." Gaara blinked and something came back into his eyes and he straightened. "But there are things we must do first."

Sakura let the illusion fade from her fingers and turned to see back over her shoulder Sasuke skipping stairs to make it to the bottom in time. He was out of breath and hastily dressed for travel.

"You thought we would leave without you?" Sakura teased.

"Yes."

She laughed and Gaara nodded before turning to head out first. Sakura tugged on Sasuke's arm and the trio headed to the courtyards. As he expected she would, Sakura dreamed creatures for them to sit atop and ride across the desert. Fashioned from what looked like mother of pearl and alabaster, she dreamed up a long snake like body of a Chinese dragon with curling whiskers. It leaned down for her to climb atop his back and she helped both Gaara and then Sasuke up, delighting in their awe stuck expressions. Sai was noiseless as he followed.

"His name is Haku by the way."

"Well, if we're going into the desert of monsters it is good to have one of our own," Sasuke said out loud. The dragon moved and he squeaked out and reached for the back of Gaara's shirt, clinging desperately.

Sakura shot the boys a look of puzzlement over her shoulder.

"Monsters?"

* * *

It took longer to cross the desert than she anticipated. Days stacked atop days. When she woke up the summer was gone and it was autumn already. It was harvest season and the air seemed thick with magic if she stayed outside long enough with her mouth open.

Jugo still kept coming to her room to try and get more of her history, but Sakura closed her eyes and mouth and stayed as still as stone until he was gone. Yamato and Genma both got the same treatment when they tried to talk to her and it was obviously causing irritation with the lot of them, but Sakura was fine being a bitch for as long as she was treated like the princess in the tower of a fairytale. There was no prince coming to save her so she would do what she could on her own.

The worlds felt backwards and upside down. She went to sleep to wake up and work. The waking world is where she kept her eyes closed and voice off. When she dreamed she was awake.

Crossing the desert was a challenge. Each night was a new branch of their flight or trek. Some places were impossible to fly through and in others there were hoards of flying beasts made out of wind that needed to be trapped in fire and sand to be completely subdued. There were creatures in the sand that pulled them down into dark tunnels and other creatures that struck from the shadows of the sand dunes, and then more creatures that were just traditionally terrible and needed to bleed the old fashioned way.

Her bone sword got plenty of use.

Oddly enough, Sasuke ended up being a useful ally in their party. He didn't cover but fought as well as he could with his abilities being what they were. Gaara was a tremendous help as well, and they traveled far slaughtering monsters and enemies out of myth and legend.

The storm in the center of the desert grew larger each day, as they drew closer to it, but Sakura was only starting to understand how immense the storm actually was. It was more than the size of a castle or a town or even a city. She had no doubt when she finally reached it, the storm would be all she could see.

"I can't remember, are there any other bastard gods hiding in the desert? I know there were like, four main ones for the tattoos, and we have all those, but are there any other Crawling Chaos demon spawns that I have to be worried about?" Sakura asked, looking to Gaara across the fire.

She and the trio of boys were camped out atop a cropping of ruins next to the husk of a giant scorpion Sakura had killed with a single punch. Sasuke had pulled pieces of it off and was roasting the meat over the fire. Sai was out mapping the surrounding areas and said he would be back soon.

"Not that I know of. Why do you ask?"

Sakura shook her head and settled down next to Sasuke. "No real reason I guess. My tattoos were sort of bugging me though. Like, I can feel them vibrating some times when I am really still and listening for it. It's gotten worse the past few nights."

"That's because of the storm. We're very close to it, not more than a day or two away."

Gaara reached to the edge of the fire and pulled off a stick of crispy scorpion meat. Sasuke pulled a different stick off to hand to Sakura and she thanked him for it before biting down hard.

"Tastes like chicken without seasoning," she said around a mouthful of meat.

"Everything tastes like chicken," Sasuke huffed. "You've said that about everything we've killed and eaten."

She grinned wide and the swallowed what was left in her mouth. "I don't have a really good imagination when it comes to food so everything just tastes like chicken to me."

"How much longer are you going to…be awake for?" Gaara asked, pausing to look over at Sasuke before he misspoke and said something about her 'returning to another world.'

Sakura stared up at the stars and took another big mouthful of meat between her teeth to tear free. "I'm not sure," she said after a while. "I think a little longer more, but I don't feel the urge to sleep and drift like I should. I'll be awake a little longer I think."

"Stay with us longer. You always go to sleep as soon as the monsters are dead and you're out like the dead yourself," Sasuke complained.

"You sound lonely, dear," Sakura chuckled.

Sasuke stared at her hard, looking between her and then Gaara and then her again. "You really think there's stiff competition between who is better company?"

Sakura reached over to ruffle his hair playfully and he cried, pulling back and escaping from the reach of her hand. His cheeks were lightly dusted with pink from embarrassment.

"Don't treat me like a child," he complained.

"Yes, Sakura, he's old enough to have father plenty of real children. Don't treat him like a child."

Sasuke growled, glaring through the flames at the redhead. "At least I know how to father a child. No one ever questioned my ability to preform when it was important."

Gaara chuckled and rolled his eyes, refusing to take the bait and respond. In the beginning he and Sasuke would argue every night it seemed, but lately their spats had deescalated with Gaara's refusal to engage. It was different then when Sakura had traveled with him and Sasori. Now the tables were a little turned. Sasori had been able to get under Gaara's skin so easily.

"You know what would make this scorpion taste much better and less like chicken?" Sasuke asked, looking to Sakura. "Wine."

Sakura almost choked on the meat in her mouth. She swallowed hastily and beat her chest to help it down. "Oh no!" she coughed. "No-on, no, no, not anymore. I remember what happened last time. I don't want to have to hurt you."

"I said I didn't mind!" Sasuke whined.

"Yeah, that unnerved me a little," Sakura admitted, remembering have to fight Sasuke off and restrain him until he gained awareness for his actions.

It was unsettling how excited he seemed to get when bound and tied. When Sakura looked to see what Gaara's reaction was she wasn't surprised to see it was similar to her own. Neither of them wanted to see Sasuke moaning for _tighter_ bands or to be slapped harder.

This trek out into the desert was vastly different from the last time she went out with Gaara and Sasori.

"If you're so bored go scout and come back. Maybe then your thirst will be quenched," huffed Gaara.

Sasuke grumbled but stood. "You just want to be alone with her," he huffed as he brushed past Gaara to the stone steps leading down from their pearch.

Gaara looked over at Sakura once he was gone and smiled. "He's not wrong."

"I didn't think he was," she sighed. The stick with scorpion meat on it was picked clean, but she sucked what she could off the stick before tossing it out into the dark.

"How are you doing?" he asked. "In the other world you said you were still trapped. Has that changed at all?"

Sakura shook her head. "Not yet, but I'm not sure if it should anymore. I don't have a place to go to, and it's been so long, I'm sure my friends all hate me now. I've been cut off and haven't been able to contact them. They probably think I'm a horrible person who doesn't care about them. I miss them a lot though."

"You know you have me and sort of Sasuke. We care for you."

Sakura spared a sad smile for Gaara. "I love you both, but understand it's not the same as having girl friends who have known you for years. It's not anything you could change, it's just…I miss my girls."

"And you can't go to them?"

Sakura rounded the fire and sat down next to Gaara, bumping her shoulder up against his. "Not in the waking world. I'm powerful here, but out there I'm not even seen as human anymore. I'm treated like a thing, like an item that must be insured and protected. I understand my life is in danger and they are keeping me safe, but it's not out of love and it's not respectful of my right to freedom. Even the ones I thought were my friends all sided with their boss over helping me."

"I wouldn't consider them friends then," he said, turning his face so that his lips pressed up against her shoulder. He kissed her through he fabric there and then rested his chin on the place where his lips touched.

"I feel like that sometimes too, but then that becomes too lonely. I don't want to wake up in a world where I am truly without friends."

"It's a terrible truth, but even if the lie is sweeter it is not what will help us grow."

Sakura huffed loudly, sounding frustrated and feeling frustrated through and through. "I don't like it when you're right about how stupid I'm being. How did you get to be so wise, Gaara?"

"I devoured a thousand grasshoppers and studied the stars for a thousand years," he answered sarcastically. "Ah wait, no, I think eating a grasshopper is supposed to give you luck, not wisdom. What do you eat for wisdom in the stories?"

Sakura laughed and felt a little lighter. "You make this hell endurable. Even with powers, if I had to go through all of this without a friend I think I would extinguish."

Gaara was quiet for a while before speaking. "That's what makes you different from the other dreamers in the past I think. You value love where others valued power." She heard him swallow before he whispered, "It makes me want to love you."

"I love you too Gaara," she said.

Sakura reached to ruffle his hair and he caught her wrist while burying his face deeper into the curve of her shoulder. "Not like that."

Sakura was still and let her hand drop. "I know, I'm sorry," she whispered.

Gaara inhaled and then held the sent of her in before exhaling shakily. It almost sounded like a self pitying chuckle. "I know better, but I still can't help it, so don't tell me I'm wise. I know I'm not the one you love."

Sakura didn't say anything, but let him lean on her shoulder, knowing and believing in the deepest parts of her heart, that Gaara was someone she could trust her life with. He never lied to her about what he felt, but he saw the line and the limit of her affections and didn't resent her for it. He didn't cling to her and say things like, 'I know I'm not the one you love, but I could be, but I should be…' He didn't do anything more than just stay on her shoulder and keep her company through the chill of the desert night.

Looking back, she should have said something more.

Looking back….

She woke, she worked, and then she dreamed again.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes and saw the world of the dream, the desert that went on forever and the storm that had encroached on their camp in the night. She bolted awake and ran outside to see the desert's storm had moved while they slept and was now close enough to reach. It was practically on their doorstep. Her tattoos were screaming at her and felt like they would vibrate right through her skin.

"Gaara!" Sakura screamed, seeing no sign of him or Sasuke.

Had they gone ahead? Their things were still around the dead campfire. They were never gone when she woke up in the dream. Sometimes they were out a handful of paces, but they were never gone…not like they were now.

Sakura screamed for both of the boys, running around the ruins and lifting her scarf up to protect her mouth from the winds and sands as she went. When visibility got bad she dreamed on a pair of goggles and flew high on Haku to better see her surroundings.

The winds were strong and she couldn't go much higher than where she had already been, but with a new vantage Sakura caught sight of something before Haku had to land. There was something shining not far from their camp, but on the other side of another crop of ruins.

She felt the wrongness of it all in her chest before she even saw where they were.

She directed Haku down towards the rubble and came in like a dark, jumping off his back to skit to a stop in front of where Gaara knelt under a hand made out of sand. Two long gashes ran across his chest making an X shape. He was grinding his teeth and seething, but didn't look any worse than that.

"What happened?" Sakura hissed, raising her hands to heal him.

Gaara opened his mouth to say one thing, but his eyes flashed and he moved, grabbing her wrists and pulling her aside screaming, 'dream killer!'

Sakura rolled with him and then popped up in a suit of white gold, plated intricately to protect her from any strike or impact. She didn't see the creature or the form right away, but after a quick glance about she noticed the form.

"Sasuke?" she gasped, feeling a betrayal in her heart for what she knew needed to happen next. It wasn't really Sasuke, he was just possessed again, moving and operating in ways beyond his will.

"No, Sasuke died. That's just his corpse," Gaara gasped, climbing to his feet to stand alongside her.

At his words Sakura's eyes went to the gaping hole in his heart where there were nothing but blood stains and void. His eyes were possessed and his skin was pale. It made her want to retch again.

"That's not fair!" she cried. "I was asleep I couldn't have-"

"It's the last Kingdom, they're not willing to play fair. They needed my tattoo so they lured me away from you. I'm sorry I couldn't save him."

"Where's Sai," sakura heard herself sob, not seeing her companion anywhere.

"We were separated, but he was fine last I saw." He grunted with a step backwards. "Better than me at least."

Sakura dreamed her bone rifle into her hands and fired. The shot went straight to the head, but in a flicker Sasuke's whole body was moved sideways and then back. Sakura fired again and again, but both shots missed when they should have hit.

"He's the up close and personal type I take it," Sakura growled, melting her rifle into a sword. "Fine, I know how to use this pretty well by now."

"Be careful, he's a corpse so he doesn't react to pain strikes."

Sakura heard the warning but moved just as fast. The idea that this enemy was any more difficult than ones she had already bested didn't register. She had come too far and was too close and had given up too much to not be the champion of this fight.

Gaara was right, Sasuke didn't register pain, but he was as fast as the devil and just as pretty. It almost seemed as if he wasn't truly there when she stuck out for him. Occasionally they would lock blades as he raised his own saber to meet hers, but often times he was just out of reach and darting around her like lightning.

One of her greatest strengths was her endurance. She didn't get tired in the dream and could wail on a person for hours if she wanted to. In this fight, that wasn't an advantage because Sasuke was a corpse that also did not get tired. He could fight and run as long as he wanted without having to rest like other enemies.

Sakura felt her skip separate across her face, over the bridge of her nose and she snarled at the sting, but turned herself into the next attack and caught Sasuke's sword again, grinding down his blade until they were face to face. She was bleeding and huffing angrily while he just stared up at her with possessed eyes.

"You said you were going to protect me," Sasuke's voice spoke.

Sakura faltered and he was able to break the hold and draw back.

"That's not fair, I wasn't even here!" Sakura screamed, throwing herself into the next attack.

In her mind there was a mantra on repeat she moved to and sustained herself on: _Not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair…_

It had become so manageable in comparison to the hell that was her waking world, Sakura had forgotten that she was in a dream constructed to test her for godhood. She existed in a world designed to kill her. It was hard to keep that in perspective with her fire light talks, with the jokes, with her friends, and with the powers of her own imagination.

Sasuke's dead possessed eyes staring up at her with blame grounded her in the reality that she was in hell, and she still needed to rise above it.

Sakura screamed and her blade was longer with chakra, reaching further than the actual metal. It was a sword as long as a lance when she swung, and Sasuke dodged it again with a flicker, but her chakra trail caught him at the throat and she saw the strike clear.

She staggered away and watched as his head fell from his body and the light from the dream killer dissipated.

"Sakura!" She turned at the sound of Gaara's cry. He sounded worried. "I need you here, now!"

Sakura ran for him and reached him as he staggered against a wall. She dropped her sword and readied her hands to heal him, but he was trying to get something out of his belt that was wrapped in cloth. He grunted and motioned for her to help him so she did.

"Take it, hurry."

Sakura removed from his belt the cloth bundle and pulled it apart to see the mother of pearl handle dagger. She turned it over and gripped it securely so as to not lose it.

"What do you need this for?" Sakura looked up and it was already too late, even though she watched it happen.

Gaara smiled sad and kind, grabbed for her shoulders, and pulled himself in for a hug with one arm while the other guided her hand with the dagger into his body.

"No," she whispered, too stunned to scream anymore.

"It was poisoned, I have a minute, maybe less left. I was afraid he would get my god mark instead of you. Finish me so you can go into the storm, finally."

Sakura choked, feeling nothing in her fingers and hand even though she knew there was a dagger there. "No, you didn't."

"I had to. There was no way I was letting the enemy gain this advantage. And…you knew I was already dead anyway. It doesn't matter." He leaned to the side far enough to see her face. He was smiling. "And I told you, didn't I, that you were different? You will conquer this world. I believe in you too because you…to me…you are…ar-are love."

His eyes slid closed and the rest of his body went limp.

Sakura dropped along with him and couldn't even cry, not even when the scarab burned itself into her back, completing her set of God Marks.

 _Not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair…_

For her the storm parted.

 _Not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair…_

For her the Temple at the end of the world revealed itself.

 _Not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair…_

Sakura found Sai, wounded and unconscious, and carried him with her to the outskirts of the city surrounding the temple inside the curse. She was numb to the sights but she found a place to sit down and rest. She grew around them a barrier of quartz to protect them as they slept. Sakura laid her head down and drifted, all the while thinking: _Not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair…_

She should have kissed him.

* * *

Sakura woke in the real world and felt the burn on her back and knew it was the new tattoo that had once belonged to Gaara. She had a full set now and one less friend to take comfort in. Sasuke was gone, hurting her more than she though it would, and Gaara was dead from her blade. If she had ignored Sasuke and healed him right away-if she had been faster-if she had dreamed sooner-if she had found them quicker-if-if-if…..

Sakura grabbed her head, feeling the short hair on one side and the long curls from the rest of her skull. The tattoos under her chin that stretched down her neck like the arms of the sun stung as fiercely as the new one on her back. She could feel all of them like she was still back in the dream at the mouth of the storm.

Alone.

She missed Karin and Ino too much in that moment. It hurt her to think of them and how she was without them at this time, and without Gaara now. He meant more to her than she knew and she didn't tell him that at the end. She told him she loved him, but she didn't impress upon him what that meant, how big a deal that was. He didn't know how she felt. He didn't know how she cared about him. He died not knowing how important he really was to her.

None of it was fair and she was still trapped like a princess in a tower.

 _'You will conquer this world.'_

Gaara's voice was a ghost in her head, but it was a ghost she needed.

Sakura rose from the bed and grabbed jeans to pull on, tucking her nightshirt into the waistband and not caring that it looked terrible. Her face was still bleeding from a cut across her nose but she ignored it as she moved to the door and pulled it open. There was no one in the halls, but once she stepped out, Genma unpeeled himself from the shadows.

"Sakura, your face. You're hurt!"

He reached for her and Sakura rammed her elbow into his gut. Not expecting the lashing, Genma went down hard. He groaned holding his gut and squinted up at her with a playful curse on his lips, but that died when he saw the black marks peaking through the low dip in the back of her nightshirt.

"Stay asleep," Sakura said, waving a hand over his prone form. Dark colored smoke seeped from her form and washed over him. A moment later he was dozing on the floor.

Sakura staggered in the hall, feeling pain all over her body. The tattoos were darker on her hands where she could see them best. There was smoke all around her and she let it rise, billowing out of the pores of her skin like she was a furnace coughing up billows of black.

She stepped out of the house into the yard trailing smoke and seeing the prone bodies of all the workers on the floor. She took one of their keys and found the car, turning it to the road and driving it away. They would find it later, but Sakura didn't plan on letting them take her back without a fight ever again.

By the time she arrived she was half folded over the steering wheel and panting from the pain of her tattoos. The ones on her hands had stretched and spread a little, but were starting to recede back to their original limits after not using the smoke for a period of time.

When Sakura swallowed she tasted copper and cotton in her throat. She wanted to sleep but she didn't want to dream. She didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to see anymore of her friends die ever again. It wasn't fair.

Sakura staggered to the door, knowing it was well past midnight and an unreasonable hour. She was a terrible person for wanting this, but she tried the door and found it locked. She knocked and sagged against the doorframe when she heard noises. The floodlights came on and someone came to the door.

She lifted her head from the frame to see the majorly pissed off face of a feisty redhead. Karin looked ready to murder until she turned and saw Sakura. A new kind of anger came into her eyes until she saw what state Sakura was in.

"Shit, Sakura what happened!" Karin reached for her and Sakura let herself be gathered into her friend's arms.

"Is that Sakura?" a new voice cried.

Sakura looked back over her shoulder and saw Ino on the stairs, looking shocked and less pissed. The blonde blinked and then was running for them.

"What happened to her, why is she like this?! Sakura!" Ino cried, sounding ready to start sobbing. "I thought she was supposed to be sick. What the hell are with those marks?"

Karin cursed loudly and kicked the door shut behind them as she dragged Sakura in. She hauled them to the living room couch and set Sakura down on the cushions for Ino to approach and fawn over.

"What the hell, girl?" Karin huffed, looking Sakura over with a look of wide eyed confusion. She swallowed and when she spoke again her voice was a slow tremble on the edge of rage. "What did they do to you?"

"Please, I can't go back there," Sakura whispered, feeling pain around her throat and not knowing if that was because of her tattoos or because she was crying.

Karin's glare was fierce as she bent to Sakura's side and grabbed the girl's shoulder. "You're going to tell me everything and then never do that again. I'm not letting those bastards pull you away again."

* * *

"I call upon you who are in the empty air, you who are terrible, invisible, almighty, a god of gods, you who cause destruction and desolation, […] You who were driven out of Egypt and have roamed foreign lands, you who shatter everything and are not defeated."  
\- [From] PDM XIV. 675 - 94. (Betz, _The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation._ P. 232)

* * *

AN:/Wow. I know you don't believe me, but I hate it when sad things happen to the characters and Gaara's scene destroyed me.

That took forever and I am so thankful for all you lovely readers for reading, reviewing, and sticking with me this whole time. I can't explain it with words well enough, but the reviews that were coming in each week or every few days for any on of the Obelisk stories just made it that much easier to go back and write. I wouldn't not have gotten this far without the support, love, and care from this community. You guys are amazing. Knowing that scenes and parts of my writing were meaningful just helped me so much in going back again and again to add to this chapter, scene by scene. I am overwhelmed by the love for this series. It's a lot.

So, one more full chapter is left in this series with an epilogue if I'm feeling not so evil, because this sort of story needs it. A lot of stuff gets revealed in the next chapter, the stakes are truly exposed, and some masks come off. (Like, who's been trying to kill her, why are Ino and Karin living together now? What happened to the rest of the world while she was cloistered away.)It's a big update and I'm going to cry-no lie-once this stories is done. It's been a long time in the making, but it is time for this story to come around.

I love you all. Thank you for sticking with me!

 _If you can, please leave me a **review** to let me know you're still on board with the story and still find it interesting. I love to hear back from you and know my work is reaching people. Thank you!_


	20. Chapter 20

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

"I don't know how to stay tender  
with this much blood in my mouth"

Emma Tranter - excerpt from heartless girls zine,

* * *

Recap: _"Shit, Sakura what happened!" Karin reached for her and Sakura let herself be gathered into her friend's arms._

 _"Is that Sakura?" a new voice cried._

 _Sakura looked back over her shoulder and saw Ino on the stairs, looking shocked and less pissed. The blonde blinked and then was running for them._

 _"What happened to her, why is she like this?! Sakura!" Ino cried, sounding ready to start sobbing. "I thought she was supposed to be sick. What the hell are with those marks?"_

 _Karin cursed loudly and kicked the door shut behind them as she dragged Sakura in. She hauled them to the living room couch and set Sakura down on the cushions for Ino to approach and fawn over._

 _"What the hell, girl?" Karin huffed, looking Sakura over with a look of wide eyed confusion. She swallowed and when she spoke again her voice was a slow tremble on the edge of rage. "What did they do to you?"_

 _"Please, I can't go back there," Sakura whispered, feeling pain around her throat and not knowing if that was because of her tattoos or because she was crying._

 _Karin's glare was fierce as she bent to Sakura's side and grabbed the girl's shoulder. "You're going to tell me everything and then never do that again. I'm not letting those bastards pull you away again."_

* * *

Final Chapter

Here we are at the end of it all

The music and the lights don't dance on daggers like they used to

Here we are at the end of all things

The wolves and the bests don't bite on our bones like they used to

Here we are at the end of another dream

The monsters and the lovers don't bleed into the sea like they used to

Here we are at the end of it again

The gods and the sands don't swallow things like they used to

Here we are at the end

-Vesper Chan, Kingdom of Gods, 2017

* * *

Karin turned on all the lights downstairs and then made coffee in the pot before realizing Sakura didn't drink coffee. She unplugged the machine and put a kettle of water on the stove to heat.

Ino had pulled Sakura up and was sitting so close their thighs were pressed together. One of her arms was wrapped around Sakura's shoulders and she was careful to avoid touching the tattoos that still seemed to sting when they were touched. They had stopped moving across her skin, but the smell of smoke still lingered.

Questions lingered between the girls so heavy it was something the tongue could taste.

"Here," Karin said, sounding softer than normal as shaped off a mug with lemongrass and honey tea. She glanced sideways to Ino. "You need something to wake up?"

Ion shook her head and bit her lip. "I'm plenty awake all on my own. I'll be fine."

Karin huffed and ran a hand through her hair. "I just got into bed, but I know what you mean. Damn, this is not how I thought tonight would go."

"I'm not complaining," Ino quickly interjected, leaning into Sakura. "I'm so glad to see you. I'm so glad I was here when you came. I know I wouldn't be the one you looked for if…" Ino's eyes glanced up at Karin and then dropped. "Never mind."

"I talked to Jugo a few weeks ago, he said you were checked into a behavioral health hospital and that we weren't allowed contact until your therapy was finished." Karin's eyes lingered on the dark marks around Sakura's neck. "I guess that was a load of horse shit as well."

"I knew that much," grumbled Ino.

Karin grimaced. "Still, I don't think there's an easy answer to any of this, is there? What happened, you joined a cult or did the cult join you?"

Sakura swallowed hot tea and let her breath warm. "Is that what it looks like?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Pretty much."

Sakura stood and set the mug down on the endurable before reaching for the hem of her shirt. She crossed her arms and tugged the shirt off over her head and let it dangle from one hand before she tossed it onto the couch. She stood in her bra, showing off the winged woman under her breasts and the scarab eating the sun between her shoulder blades. Down her spine trailed nile flowers.

"So an Egyptian cult?" Karin guessed with a crooked brow that matched the stance and posture she fell into.

"Something like that," Sakura said, touching the sun rays on her neck. "You remember those stories I started writing that you read once? The one about the world I said I was dreaming about?"

"A collective dream cult," Ino murmured aloud.

"I guess they really are a cult, but not without good reason. They would have rather been thought of as a secret society but yeah, they were connected to those dreams I was writing about. Crazy as it sounds, everything that happened when I was asleep was true to them."

"Crazy bastards," Karin hissed.

"The police can do something about this," Ino said.

Sakura shut her eyes anticipating this. "They weren't crazy. This," she pointed to the cut across her face, "happened in a dream. I dreamed of being attacked by wolves and woke up in a bed stained with blood. I dreamed of fights and woke up with bruises, I dreamed these nightmares and they followed me into he waking world. It all happened."

Ino made a dismissive sound but stopped when she saw Karin's face drain of color. "That's impossible," the blonde said.

"The wild dog attack…there wasn't any blood leading in from outside. Dad said it didn't make and sense but none of us could explain it any other way And there were rabies in your blood that they said they couldn't match to any dogs in the area because it was such a unique mutation. You know they called back asking about that a few times."

Sakura closed her eyes and remembered that night.

 _Her mind started cutting out. One minute she was in her bed, the next she's on the tile floor of her bathroom, climbing into the tub. Somehow she found her phone and hit something on speed dial. Someone called out her name a lot and the words that came from Sakura's lips made no sense, but it was clear they were panicked words. She was crying a lot and laying limp in the tub. She needed to clean her wounds, she needed to bind them. She needed to apply pressure and to stop the bleeding_.

"It wasn't wild dogs, those were wolves and I was trying to get past them to an Obelisk in the dream."

"This is insane," Ino sighed, standing and pacing around the pair of girls. "This is what happens in stories. This doesn't really happen. It was a dream or an accident and your mind is trying to explain it with stories like it does. They did this to you. Don't protect them."

Sakura looked down at her hands and felt the burn as her tattoos stretched and covered more of her skin and seeped black smoke that glittered and twisted with minute streaks of lightning rounding the curves and edges. There were stars in the clouds that Sakura spilled from her fingers.

She looked up and both Karin and Ino had moved back to watch the smoke better. Ino was breathless and Karin was cursing and making the sign of the cross. Sakura remembered a time when they called her a saint for doing half as much.

"I wish it was all a dream, but this has followed me into the waking world one too many times to not believe in it like they do. They've been fighting for this power for centuries and Jugo's family is part of a larger coalition seeking to control whoever dreams inside the Obelisk."

"Obelisk?" Karin echoed. "Like the one you kept on the nightstand?"

Ino snapped at Karin with her hand and then pointed to something behind Sakura. Both girls looked and saw a mostly white Obelisk sitting on the edge of the end table, where it hadn't been just moments earlier.

"That one?" she hissed.

Sakura let the smoke dissipate and turned to reach for the Obelisk. It was mostly white with only one streak left colored in black.

"Sakura," Karin breathed. "How long has this been going on?"

"The dreams?" Sakura looked back over at the girls and noticed how each one had a different kind of horror in their expressions. "Since we moved into my grandmother's house."

Ino stepped forward, a new hardness in her pale blue eyes. She grabbed for Sakura's arms and held onto her just above the elbows. "I don't know what that means or what any of this has meant to you, but I'm not leaving until I understand. I'm awake now so tell me _everything_."

Karin made more tea and Sakura did her best to summarize all that happened to her in the Kingdom of Man, Beasts, and Monsters. It was close to morning when she explained how she got the first tattoo in the Kingdom of Gods.

Karin cursed at the light and went off to get dressed and write a note to her parents about why she wouldn't be coming into work. Ino waited for Karin to come back before she also left to dress and ready for the day. It was still dim out when the trio headed out to the high rise apartment Ino lived in. If they came searching for Sakura they would check out Karin, but Ino was a friend they wouldn't expect.

"It's sort of amazing to me how the two of you are like….such great friends now. Didn't you not get along when I went away? How did that change?" Sakura asked as she stepped into the apartment after Karin. Ino turned and flashed a bright smile. "Oh no, this is pretty recent, you're right. I still sort of hate her guts a little-"

"Right back at you, bitch," Karin snapped loudly from a back room that was out of sight.

Ino rolled her eyes. "But I can understand why the two of you are such good friends now. She reminds me a lot of you and she said the same thing about me. We sort of just…ended up on the same couch at a party a few times and then this happened." She shrugged. "I'd still rather hang out with you though, if we're being honest."

Karin yelled a long string of profanities from the other room that turned into insults and Ino explained that Karin had a long day and no rest, so it was best they let her sleep.

Sakura looked to the rising sun peaking up over the tops of skyscrapers. It had been many hours since she last dreamed and she was due back in that world soon.

"You have any strong coffee I could suck down?" Sakura asked, eyes still fixated on the large window that saw everything.

"It'll keep you up."

"I hope it does."

* * *

Yamato thought he was a mess about Sakura's escape but Jugo knew he was the real mess. He knew where she would run to and he knew what he needed to do if they left to bring her back. Karin was living with her parents still with the occasional visit from her boyfriend. Suigetsu hadn't said anything about the text questions Jugo had sent him, but that was to be expected. It was still early in the morning.

"I don't understand how she got through everyone. Even the cameras?!"

Hugo looked up and saw his grandfather talking to Homura. The older elder was red faced and angry about waking up from a magic induced sleep that only dissipated minutes ago. The whole compound was a hive of mess and anger.

"There was no one to monitor the cameras. She showed up and we have that evidence of her leaving, but the car hasn't been recovered yet. That will take some time." Log was trying to calm down the other man and Jugo felt bad for his grandfather.

"We know where she was heading. Why haven't they left for that woman's house?"

"Teams are leaving now."

"They should have left the minute the woke up."

"They are handling the situation now," Danzo cut in. Both men turned to see Danzo hunched over his cane and looking extra gruff. "But understand what this means for them, Homura. Sakura will not come back willingly and they may not be able to manage that anymore."

"They have to, even if it kills them. She's too dangerous now! She was able to manipulate the powers of the dream in the waking world. That must mean she earned a new god tattoo."

Jugo shut his eyes and tried not to think about what that meant. The last tattoo was on the body of her dear friend and one of the last people she would actually talk to. She had stopped talking to him and Yamato and Genma, but he knew her well enough to know that she needed people to talk to still. She had Sai and she had Gaara and maybe some others, but not many more. Karin and the girls were all cut off, after all. If she lost Gaara, it would have driven her off the edge a little.

"She's effective. We were not." Danzo's words were dower and full of gloom. "She has all she needs to ascend now."

"She won't be able to. In the accounts Gaara also had all the tattoos but he still died at the end. She doesn't know about the trap there waiting for her," said Homura.

"Neither do you. The existence of what lies at the end of the Obelisk is pure theory. We don't know if there is a trap of if it's just despair that killed Gaara."

Homura glared hard at Danzo, pulling himself up to his pitiful full height. "The Obelisk Trails are a rigged game. We knew this when we defected. It's why we are here now and not out hunting down new kids to slaughter in hopes of making a new god. She's a dead woman walking."

"So why are you desperate to get her back?" Danza challenged.

"Where she goes that thing will follow. We need to recover the Obelisk and minimize the damage a mad god might do. She's too dangerous to be left on her own."

"She's a person!"

The elders turned as one to see Jugo standing at the end of the hall, holding a notebook in one hand while the other was twisted into a tight fist. He was red in the face and his eyes were glassy, but he didn't back down or turn away.

"She's dangerous by her very nature," Homura argued, his tone calming enough to try and be soothing. He sounded like he was talking to an emotional child that needed to be calmed.

"She's still a human being, a person and not a…a piece of property you lost income on. If she's dangerous now it's because you-we made her like that."

"No one forced her to kill those gods."

Jugo felt tight and hot. He knew it was anger that made his body vibrate. "Not like you would know. She barely speaks about the terrible stuff she has to see inside the Obelisk. It's not normal, its' not typical. She's a mess with every right to be so and we-you can't blame her for that. She lives half her life in a war zone."

"All the more reason to bring her back. She's unstable."

"She's a person! Treat her like one."

Log took a step towards his grandson, his eyes full of pity.

" _Jugo_ ," he whispered. "Please don't get too upset over this. It's not your fault she ran away."

"Yes it is. I have to accept some of the blame for what we did. I wasn't there for her when everyone turned their back on her and treated her like a thing. I should have been her friend but I wasn't-I was her damn chronicler."

Jugo snarled and threw his notebook down. They called his name but he turned and stormed off, not caring who was shouting for him. He ran to his room and locked the door behind him. Logging on he accessed the protected internet server and sent a message to Karin.

* * *

Sakura was a shaking mess when Karin woke up in the middle of the day. All of the caffeine kept her awake, but did terrible things to her already starved body. It made her cold, too.

"You've been up this whole time?" Karin yawned wide and grabbed her hair to pull back out of her face. "Why haven't you put a bandage on that cut?"

Sakura shook her head and closed her eyes, hating how she wanted to yawn after seeing Karin do it. "It's fine. I can heal it up in the dream world. Once I sleep it will be fine again."

"What does that mean?"

"I told you that a woman taught me how to heal like in a video game? Yeah, I can still do that. This…" Sakura waved a hand in front of her face. "This is nothing."

"You hadn't finished telling me the rest of that story. Last I heard you were in a sticky situation."

"That's super vague. I'm always in a sticky situation. Was it the gate or the kingdom? Rome and slave girls or Egypt and monsters."

"Oh, you were on the Kingdom. I liked the part where you destroyed those brothers and crowned yourself their god." Karin laughed and scratched her stomach under her sleeping shirt. "That sounded like you."

"Yeah, I've killed a lot of things." She sounded wistful as she closed her eyes again. "After that I think it was the Crawling Chaos. There are these four bastard gods that live in the sandy world and each one has a power I need to use to get to the end of the world. Each tattoo used to be a god. They were _ug-ly_ , straight out of a Lovecraft story."

"And you killed them."

Sakura looked up and saw that karin was grinning like a cat with cream. Her smile was wide and far stretching a way that made her seem all the more wild for it. Her red hair was a mess around her head like a wicked flame. Sakura missed Karin, missed her like this.

"Yeah," Sakura whispered. "I killed them all."

"That's you. I'll believe it. If someone had to endure that hell and came out on top I know it would be you. I've never met or known anyone stronger." Karin shook her head and her hair was tossed even more messily around. "And to think that while you were hanging out with me and Ami or Ino or anyone else, you were also dreaming about a world that kept trying to kill you. You still went to work and you still hung out with us. I don't know how…"

"You know I thought I was crazy for a while, right? I didn't tell anyone because I thought there was something wrong with me."

"Don't blame you. I always liked you crazy though, just so you know," said Karin. "It's out there now."

"It's cause you're crazy."

Karin raised her hands in mock defense. "Guilty as charged." She crossed the room to where Sakura sat and dropped down with a 'plop' sound. Her eyes were wide and awake. "Tell me the rest."

So Sakura did.

"So what are you going to do next? It sounds like this is almost over. You're at the end, right?" Karin asked.

It was getting harder and harder to stay awake and Sakura could feel the weight of her eyes sliding shut once more. "I sure hope so. I can't keep this up much longer."

"You sound like you're kicking ass and taking names," Karin commented before her voice dropped a note in tone. "But I understand how it can be traumatic based on some of the things you've said. I mean, they don't sound like real people to me, but you say their names like they're people we went to school with or something, like they're real. They're people you fell in love with, cared for, and felt betrayed by."

Sakura's eyes was closed and she knew she didn't have much longer left before she would have to go back to sleep. It was already late in the day and she suspected that the dream was hungry for more. "I'm so tired from loving corpses. My heart can't take this much longer."

"I don't think you'll have to. And…you're not alone in it now. Ino and me are here for you. She'll be home from work soon by the way. You think you'll be awake for that?"

Sakura shook her head and slumped forward a fraction more.

"Didn't think so based on the way you look. Don't fight, I'm just moving you to a more comfortable stretch on the couch. I'll be here while you sleep. I'll…keep watch or whatever."

Sakura didn't know if she said it out loud or if Karin even heard her, but she remembered wanted to say _thank you_ as she felt her body sink down into the cushions.

* * *

When she opened her eyes again the weight was gone and the world was covered in quartz.

She inhaled sharply and smelled the desert in her nostrils.

At her side she saw Sai resting limp against her side. The head wound was gone and just the crusty stains remained. She ran her fingers through his hair, healing the scalp and cleaning the strands of blood. When she was done she leaned down to kiss the side of his head and then rest there for a moment, leaking healing chakra into his body without knowing what was wrong beyond the head wound. He was asleep and she still felt alone.

Sakura waved her hand and the crystal quartz melted away and she was able to look out at see the skeleton of the city surrounded by storm. There were hundreds of repeating square shaped homes with doors and window molded out of clay in the same way. It was all empty and all the same.

Still she could tell where the center of the city was. Her tattoos were pulling her in that direction. Without her tattoos she would likely be lost in the City of Undeclared Souls around the Temple of The Maker of the Earth, also called The Temple at the End of the World. It felt like the end of the world.

She heard stirring and looked back to see Sai stir. He woke blinking and stretching before reaching for her outstretched hand. He paused when he saw her face and then recognition dawned.

"Gaara."

His name still hurt and Sakura almost flinched at the sound. "Yeah."

"I'm so sorry, Sakura. I didn't foresee this. I should have known the enemy would not be content to forgot a last ditch effort when we were so close to the end."

"Is that why you were so paranoid about all those patrols?" Sakura asked.

"Possibly." Sai looking beyond her shoulder to the center of the city. "Are you here for the end of all things."

"What else would I be doing here?" Sakura asked sarcastically, shrugging her shoulders and smiling as pathetically as she knew how. "Isn't it time this all ended?"

"I suppose so." Sai looked to where the end of it all was and his eyes went hazy. "I've personally never been this far into the dream or this close to the heart of it."

"Me neither. We get to do this together."

Sai looked over at her eyes wide, as if he hadn't expected anything other than reverence and apprehension from her, but she was just casually standing and watching the same scene as him.

"You're not frightened?" he asked.

"I'm scared out of my damn mind, but that't how it's always been for me every night I go to sleep." Sakura yawned so wide her lips stretched back over her molars and showed off her teeth like they were meant for destruction before the yawn ended. She blinked and rubbed the tears out of her one eye, noticing Sai was still watching her. "Yeah, I'm scared, but that's nothing new and it helps no one if I let the fear make me useless. It's been too long and I've come too far. I'm not going to be helpless at this point, not now."

"That's incredibly brave of you," he said.

"I guess you could call it that." Sakura sighed and rubbed her shoulders. "At this point it's the only thing I know how to do. I don't know if you call that bravery or just plain stubbornness."

"Maybe both, but there is no reason to see that as something negative."

Sakura reached out with one hand and Sai grabbed on, lacking his fingers with hers. She glanced over at him and he was watching her.

"Together?" she asked.

"Together," he echoed.

She tugged him along, pulled on by the thrum of her own tattoos. The houses all looked the same and the city was a dizzying mess she couldn't imagine navigating on her own.

It took time, but eventually the houses fell away and there was the temple. Larger than any temple or ruin structure she had since encountered, Sakura noticed four different black Obelisks at the four corners of the courtyard. As she moved with Sai and passed them, the light made their surfaces appear white.

The temple was designed with several smaller domes encircling the large or main dome in the middle. There were no doors, but plenty of archways decorated with flowing gold silks that waved like dancers all on their own. There wasn't a wind, but the energy around the temple made the sinks move.

"What's inside?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not sure. The body of the fallen star, the mother of those bastard gods is said to be buried here. From her decayed corpse those horrors sprung forth, but what the people did with her remains after that…I was not privy to those details."

"I thought you knew everything?" Sakura teased while tugging him along.

"I know many secrets, but I do not know everything about the Obelisk."

"You knew about me though, that I would get here to this point."

Sai grinned and tugged on her arm. "I always knew that."

The temple seemed almost as immense as the city they had to trek through, and it was mostly dark with far off halls and hundreds of support pillars that kept the heavy roof from falling down on them. It was as much a maze meant to unsettle and dizzy them as the city outside.

Sakura felt like she walked forever with Sai, hand in hand, before there was a door. Her tattoos burned at the sight of it and she felt like her skin would separate to let the ink fly free from her body. Beyond the door was the end of it all, the end of all her dreams and nightmares.

"Do you want to rest here and come back tomorrow night?" Sai asked after a while passed of Sakura just staring at the door.

She shut her eyes, squeezing them closed. "No," she admitted after a longer moment. "I don't have that time. In the other world I'm sure they're looking for me. Maybe they won't find me, but I can't put Ino and Karin at risk any longer than this."

"Then let's open the door together."

Sakura braced against the brass surface and pushed her weight against it, straining when it wouldn't give. Sai was little help and she had to drop his hand to brace with both against the structure. There were no handles or locks, just solid stone and brass. She knew it could be moved, but it was taking all her strength plus another's just to make it budge.

She surged with chakra, channeling it into her arms and hands to make herself stronger and more solid. It came so weak and she could barely feel the chakra, but she still strained with everything she had.

The door began to buckle and rock fell from overhead as she inched the door open. Sweat snaked down her face and neck as she strained. Sai looked just as winded if not more so. The door did not want to budge.

She looked over the edge to where the two halves of the door met in the middle and saw through the gap she had created between the doors a new substance, white and shiny and maybe a little sticky.

"Those better not be goddamn spider webs," she grunted. "Ever freaking game needs a damn spider level, don't they?"

"I don't think that's it," gasped Sai, looking worse than Sakura had ever seen him. He shook and then fell against the door, limp from exhaustion.

Sakura screamed and put all that she could into pushing against the door. She felt like her body was tearing apart from the strain but the door was moving. She tried imagining elephants behind her, pushing with their trunks, she tried imagining circus strong men with waxed mustaches, she tried imagining anything that could help her open the door, but everything fizzled.

She gave up when there was a crack three inches wide between the two doors. "Why can't I summon anything?"

Sakura sank down along Sai and tried to dream up a narwhal in her palm but it fizzled. Suddenly she felt her throat tighten like she was about to cry and she knew it was the wrong thing to try and summon. She dropped her hand and tried to forget about gear and his fascination with Narwhals.

"You're too close to the source. Can't you feel it?"

"I can feel it, I just don't know what it means," Sakura coughed. Her lungs hurt.

"It's not supposed to be easy. It's the end, after all," he chuckled. S

Sakura lifted her head just enough to stare over at Sai through what was left of the long parts of her hair and smiled. "I'll get through, it's only a matter of time. It's just so odd…getting tired inside the dream. That's another new thing."

Sai nodded to the door behind them. "It is the end. You are the most human here."

Sakura blew up to move some of the stray strands out of her eyes. "Great."

"No, I think it is. It's what makes you strong. You're here because you're human…at the end of all things."

Sakura suddenly felt sick in her brain and scrambled to stand and back away from he doors, grabbing at her head. "Something's wrong!"

The world around her started to bleed. Colors escaped their boundaries and the scene tilted. The dream was ending for the night, but it was too early, it felt too early.

"Go," Sai said, sprinting up and standing by her side. "Something is wrong in the waking world. Go there and make sure you are safe. When you come back it will be the last dream so make sure your body is safe in the waking world."

Sakura felt another wave of sickness take root in her heart when she remembered, while she put the whole compound to sleep and ditched the stolen truck far away enough from Karin's family pizzeria, she didn't know if she had escaped from the eyes of those trying to kill her. What if they had been trailing her all along, waiting for her to fall asleep and become vulnerable?

Karin!

* * *

Sakura woke like a bullet from a gun. She twisted up off the couch leaking spoke from her eyes and mouth, seeing the waking world in a whole new way.

Karin wasn't anywhere visible, but the men in black were. It was dusk and in the dim of day they had come in through the window on black wires. The sight of her in smoke stopped one in his tracks, but the second one charged. Sakura was in no mood to take it easy and reached for his skull. Her smoke swarmed and she heard the crack. It felt like popping a grape and he fell just as limp.

Instead of making a dash for her, the other man in black leapt to the back of the room and turned sharply down a corner. Sakura heard the surprised scream of Karin and her blood boiled. She melted into smoke and chased him down the corner, stopping abruptly when she saw a knife at the pale throat of her friend's neck.

 _This was not the dream. Karin wasn't a dead actor. She could really die._

"Not another step."

Sakura raised her hands slowly, still feeling the smoke trail out of her mouth and eyes. Her vision was in shades of gray sparkles with flecks of gold here and there, just like the smoke.

"I'm leaving, with her. You'll not touch me."

"Leave her alone," Sakura snarled.

He moved the knife closer and a thin line of red began to form on the edge of his blade. Sakura choked and cowered, stepping back.

"You didn't come here to hurt her," Sakura tried again. There was no more smoke left in her now and the wholeness of color returned to her vision. "You came here for me."

He was completely masked, but she could hear his words just as well through the fabric. "You were supposed to be asleep and alone. He lied to me. I know about the others, I'm going home after this."

Sakura backed up, raised her hands in submission, and knelt down on her knees. "Don't hurt my friend."

"You just killed mine."

Sakura heard Karin gasp.

"He didn't leave me much choice, but I didn't wake up this morning wanting to have to kill anyone."

"Maybe, but tomorrow that will change. Too much power will corrupt you no matter who you are. You're already too dangerous to leave alive. I believe that."

"And who made you the judge and jury?" Sakura asked slowly, folding her hands behind her head and lowering her eyes.

"Throw yourself out the window and maybe I'll tell you." Karin struggled and he wrested with her more, reminding her of the knife at her throat. "I think that's actually a good idea. Get up and go to the window."

He pushed Karin forward and Sakura got up to keep the distance between them even. She walked backwards out into the living room with the open window and the dead body. He had died on the wood and the blood from his crushed skull pooled.

"Take him with you. It'll look like an accident."

Sakura swallowed and reached down for the body, wincing at the feel of his very real blood on her skin when she dragged him towards the window.

"You can't do this, you can't do this to her, you can't!" Karin was panicking. Here eyes were wide and darting. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"She's literally holding my dead friend," the man hissed, shaking Karin. "She's the monster and I'm just doing you a favor."

Karin started to sob so hard it wracked her whole body. He made a sound of digest and pulled away from her a little, letting her shake and heave out sobs.

"Not my best friend, I just got her back."

"Move," the assassin growled. "Out the window. Now."

"The police…someone…"Karin was crying. She stated to go limp in his arms and sag further down.

Sakura grunted, heaving the body up and stepped one leg over the edge of the window, out into open air. They were twelve stories up. It wouldn't be a pretty fall.

She glanced back at Karin and the assassin with the knife at her throat.

The sound was nothing ore than a pop with the silencer, but Karin screamed when the blood sprayed hot over her face. The knife fell away from her throat and she staggered away. Sakura dropped her body and ran to her friend, reaching her before reaching the man in the doorway, gun still leveled.

"Any more of them?" Danzo asked.

"I'm surprised you were able to see so well with only one eye," Sakura huffed, holding Karin closer. "What took you so long, old man?"

Danza didn't put the gun away but stepped into the room and kicked the door shut behind him. "Yamato and Genma are running around on your wild goose chase and would have done a splendid job if only Log hadn't noticed that message his brat grandson sent out. It seems someone still guessed where you were. You told me you didn't speak to anyone."

"I didn't. Jugo must have guessed," Sakura snapped.

"He knows you better than you thought he did."

Karin shook and looked up at Sakura who was holding her up. "Sakura?"

Sakura nodded at Danzo. "He helped me escape. I told you I wasn't entirely without friends there, right?"

"I didn't believe you." Karin looked back at the old man, swallowed and stood up on her own. "You really took your time getting here, didn't you. Sakura was out for hours."

"Apologies," he said while inclining his head in her direction. He looked back over at Sakura and smirked. "She reminds me of you."

"Flattering," Karin huffed, side eyeing Sakura.

"It gets worse," Sakura sighed. When she looked up Danzo was watching her so she swallowed her hesitation and went on. "I'm at the temple at the end. I was about to go in when these guys showed up. I'm one sleep away from ending it all."

Danzo's one visible eye widened for a moment before returning to normal. "I'll have men clean up the mess here. You need to come with me."

Karin latched onto Sakura's arm. "Why?"

"If it's true and you're at the end there are two things that will happen, you will die, or you will become a god. Neither of those things will be easy to explain if witnessed. You're coming to the docks. I have a shipping unit there you can hide out in."

Karin stepped forward, scowling through the blood splattered across her face. "She's not leaving my side. How do I know you're not just trying to kill her as well?"

"You don't, but you don't have a say in this. Sakura, say your goodbyes quickly before more come. Log is desperate to end it before more time goes on. He's now locked Jugo up."

"Not shy about his true colors is he," Sakura sighed. When Karin whirled on her Sakura felt pain in her chest again. Karin looked devastated. "I have to go, Kar."

"Don't Kar me, you were about to die for me, you don't get to leave me after something like that." She grabbed Sakura around the forearms. "You can't."

Sakura took her friend's head and kissed her there, not minding the blood that came up with her lips. "I love you, dear friend. I'll not be gone long. Believe me, I'm coming back for you and Ino and we'll take a nice long cruise after all this is done, or something really nice."

"Like we could afford that you idiot," Karin whispered, letting her lids lower and her head drop. "Stupid bitch."

"Love you too, babe."

Sakura left with Danzo and there was a black SUV with tinted windows she climbed into. No one saw her leave, which was good because there was blood on her shoulders and face that would be hard to explain. Like he said he would be, Danzo was alone and he drove her on his own down to the docks where there was a metal shipping container padlocked. There were air vents in the side she noticed as Danzo unlocked the front.

A couch in the back was the only normal thing about the container. It was filled with body armor, guns, and ammunition.

"This doesn't look legal," Sakura joked, settling down and resting her body.

Danzo raised up the padlock. "I'm locking us both in here. No one will be able to get in. Go back. Dream. Finish this."

Sakura closed her eyes and opened them again in a new world with stone and brass surrounding her.

* * *

She saw Sai where she left him and wondered if she had only been gone a smattering of minutes and not three hours.

"You're back. Were you hurt?"

"No, it was nothing. I'm fine." Sakura breathed deep and smelled the dust and the age of the desert in her nostrils. When she opened her eyes again Sai was watching her. "I'm ready to end this."

Sakura braced against the door and heaved with all her strength. It was slow work, but she heard the strands of white keeping the doors closed snap and stretch on the other side as she gained more ground. It gave a little, and then a little more. Three inches became five, and then a foot, and then two feet. Soon it was wide enough for her to step through along with Sai.

The room was massive, white, and….oddly bare. The only thing in the center of the room was snarled old trees with bare branches that stretched out far like naked fingers. It was oddly shaped too, and as Sakura walked around the outskirts of the temple to get a better view, she thought she knew why. It looked like a heart with veins being branches and arteries tree limbs. At the base of the tree was a white, mother of pearl basin.

"What is this?" Sakura breathed. Her voice echoed terrible and not at all at the same time. Sound was odd in this chamber.

"This is what is left of the mother god. Let's approach it." He grabbed her hand again, lacking his fingers with hers, and they walked up the white stone floors and then the white stone steps to the tree.

Sakura looked up and saw that there was a single fruit dangling from the branch of the tree, right over the empty basin. It looked like a pomegranate, but not like one she had ever seen before.

"What do I have to do?" Sakura asked, waiting for a prompt from anywhere to come in and explain what she needed to do next. There was no monster to kill, no enemy to defeat. What was left for her to do?

Sai pointed to the fruit. "The god nectar. You have to consume it."

It was too easy. There had to be something else to it. It was too simple a test for what the end result would be. It didn't make sense and that unnerved her.

Sakura reached up with both hands and grabbed at the fruit, tearing it free. She saw her reflection in the basin and guessed what she needed to do next. She split the fruit and the juices spilled like burning liquid in colors of gold and vermillion into the basin at her knees. She knelt and split the fruit further open, watching seeds spill out. When she though it was done the fruit withered in her fingers and became dust that drifted free.

Sai knelt down beside her. "It's a lot," he commented.

"It's not enough to make sense, though," Sakura said back.

She braced two hands on the basin and put her lips to the edge. She tilted it back just enough and tasted the sweet juice. It was wonderful and amazing and….it… _burned_. It was like drinking sugar acid. She swallowed what she could and felt it go straight to her tattoos, burning all the way there.

"I can't drink this!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's…it's…"

"The blood of a god. It's what you need to consume to finish this. You have to." He edged closer to her, expression drawn thin. "I know you can do this."

"Gaara said he made it all the way to the end and he still died." Her voice sounded detached. "This is what he meant. He got here and the game was rigged because a human can't become a god, can't comprehend a god, can't…" Sakura looked up the tree and felt like snarling. "No. It's not fair!"

She grabbed the basin again and sucked long and deep. It burned all the way down and she heard it just as well as she felt it. Her tattoos were screaming but they didn't help much. She drank, and drank until she had to stop and gag at the blood in her throat. She vomited up chunks of blood and flesh and knew it was carving her out. She tried to raise her hands with chakra in them to her body and heal, but her chakra flickered weakly and did little.

"Sakura."

She looked back at Sai and saw he was crying. There were tears on her face too.

"You said I can do this," she whispered, feeling blood pool around her teeth. She grabbed the basin again, noticing how there was still two thirds of it left. "I can do it."

The next mouthful made her gag back and she choked, grabbing her throat. It felt like it was barely there, burned thin. She was as human as she had ever been in the real world in this dream and it would be what killed her. She couldn't do it. She couldn't consume the god's ichor.

Sai reached out and tipped the basin but Sakura watched as it angled away from her, into Sai's mouth. Steam rose up and she saw him bleed from the mouthful.

"No! Sai, don't! I can't let you-don't hurt yourself!" Sakura pulled him away and cried when she saw how much he had drunk. It wasn't as much as her, but it was enough to hurt bad. There was blood.

"I said I believed in you," he whispered. His voice was raw and barely there.

"No, no, no, not my friends. You're not allowed to leave me too. I don't want to be alone here, not here!"

Sakura sobbed, feeling her tears sting with all the salt in them. Her mouth was a bloody mess just like his.

"You're not." Sai pointed behind her and she turned.

Gaara knelt down next to her and touched her shoulder. His skin was cold as ice and she could see through parts of him, but he was there. He smiled at her and it was Gaara, through and through. Ghost Gaara, but still Gaara.

"How?" was all she could manage.

"Because I loved you, because I wanted to be here…with you." Gaara reached for the basin and inhaled sharply. "I remember this now. I tried to take all this into me on my own and didn't get halfway done before it burned through me." He glanced sideways at Sakura. "You're doing better than I did, but I don't ever want to see you hurt. Let this dead ghost do some good."

Gaara leaned over and kissed her cheek right under her eye, tasting her tears before dipping his face to the rim and tilting the ichor into his body. Sakura cried out when she saw it burn him and he could only manage a mouthful before his form began to break apart. He let the basin fall back down as gold and blood stained his lips.

What would this cost him? Sakura could see it causing him pain as it devoured more than just a body made out of dream. His very soul was burning away, leaving behind not even a memory. If he consumed much more he would never be dreamed of again. He would be truly damed.

"Please…don't," Sakura whispered as realization colored her words. He just smiled at her.

"I love you," Gaara confessed before his body went up in gold flames.

Sakura sobbed, but reached for the basin again, fearing to look at Sai and see for herself why he was so quiet. She tilted the basin and drank another mouthful. She gagged and let it settle again as she pulled back and saw it was half gone but so was her body. The skin over her ribs was eaten away and she could see down to her floating ribs, pink stained and exposed. She felt the burn deep in her and knew she was bleeding even more. Her chakra did nothing.

"Love."

She looked up at the voice and saw dark red eyes and darker black hair as Madara settled around her.

"You too?" she asked in a voice that shouldn't have been her own. It sounded so destroyed.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Sakura watched him watch her, knowing he saw a mess of a woman. She was broken more than ever before, and her body was far from beautiful, but he looked at her the same way he had back in another world's dream. He looked at her the same way he had when she stepped out on stage in a glittering white mermaid dress and pearls sewn through her hair. He looked at her like she was beautiful, not some bloody mess.

He reached over her with arms longer than hers to hold the basin. "I never wanted this for you, if I could take this burden from you I would. Sad to say all I can do is help support you in this struggle. I'm just a ghost now."

Madara reached down and kissed her above her eye, nose brushing aside her hair and inhaling deeply. He rested his face there and she could feel him gathering his resolve for whatever would come next. She pawed at him, trying to get him to stop. She knew what he was doing and what he was thinking.

" _Don't_ ," she said in a voice that was barely there.

He moved to the side to see her better and his eyes were like red jewels, spinning into new intricate patterns as he memorized her face. One of his eyes was bleeding.

"I am not worth the silt of the earth, I know this. I also know you don't love me when all I can do is adore you with every fiber of my being. I love you, Sakura, I truly, truly do, but I don't deserve you. Never doubt your worth."

He kissed her again before leaning over and tipping the bowl and drinking. It burned and he winced at the touch. Sakura actually saw steam as it seared down his throat and the edges of his form began to go black and break off. He drank deeply even when Sakura pawed at him to stop.

His burning increased and soon whole chucks of him were gone. He puled away gasping as blood leaked from both eyes and his mouth. He turned and looked back at her, brows drawn and lips brutally red. He might have said something, but in that moment she couldn't make it out as he too was burnt up.

Sakura, Sai, and the two actors who were self aware had both drank from the basin, but it was only a little less than half empty. It still wasn't enough to finish it. She wouldn't be able to end the world unless she consumed the rest of the juice so she took another deep mouthful, gagging around the blood and willing her tattoos to grow and cover more and more of her body. The more she drank the longer they grew, but there were holes in her and beetles were starting to crawl out of her. She could hear their wings humming.

She was black up to her elbows when she had to pull away one more time, gasping and gagging. She couldn't do it. Sai was still and limp, eyes oddly shadowed. Madara and Gaara were gone. They may have loved her, but she couldn't do it.

"Don't think that's the end of it."

A hand on her back made her look up and see Itachi, dressed in what she remembered seeing him wear back in the Kingdom of Beasts. The white porcelain mask was tied off to the side and his hair was high up in a ponytail.

It didn't make sense to her why he was in the Kingdom of Gods.

"Why?"

"I owe you a debt, one I could never repay, but one I hope to make myself useful to you here, where you have the most need. I may not be as self aware as the others, but I know enough to know you need help and I want to help you. I've always wanted to help you in spite of my role as an actor against you in these trials." He knelt down beside her and smiled. "Also, thank you for the kindness you showed my brother. Sasuke also didn't deserve it, but I think you showed him more genuine love than anyone he's known since becoming a part of this curse."

"I think you loved him," Sakura guessed, feeling light.

"I did, but I think I also loved you, so let me do this."

He reached past her and drank from the bowl. Sakura watched as he began to burn from the drink. His throat bobbed as he swallowed down more. It was hard to watch as he began to burn away too. When he couldn't take it any more he set the basin back down and panted. He looked up and smiled at her while the darkness ate him away. He reached up and poked the center of her forehead with affection.

"Stay safe."

She was alone again but she felt a little better. She felt well enough to take another mouthful into herself and almost strong enough to endure it when she burned from it. There was a third left she noticed as she sucked even more into her mouth. She gagged when she thought she couldn't take it anymore and looked back to see there was someone beside her, kneeling down.

"Pein?"

He smiled at the sound of his name. His hair was a mess and the piercings still gleamed, but he rolled his shoulders and pulled his leather jacket off to drop around her shoulders. He was how she remembered him back at the beginning, when the dream was still unbelievable.

"I'm here," he whispered, rubbing her shoulders through his jacket. "And I know I'm not the only one, but I wanted to be here to do this more than anything. I wanted to be here at the end of all things with you. The feelings I had for you were not fake. I remember missing you, searching for you after you left, before you moved on to the next gate."

She chuckled at the sight of him. "I remember. I saw you. Sai said it would be the last time I saw you…like this," she touched his arm and looked him over. "From the Kingdom of Man."

"I wasn't able to stop you. I know-I know it wasn't me you would have stayed for anyway, but I wanted to make you stay, all the same."

Sakura wasn't surprised when he reached to drink but cried all the same when she saw him start to break up into black bits that flared and burned away. At the last moment he reached for her face and held it in his palm before he was gone in a gasp of smoke. His jacket stayed on her shoulders though.

Less than a fourth left, Sakura drank more.

When she looked up again it was Kimimaro who was there, waiting to take his turn. Behind him, just out of sight was Kiba, fur around his face from the hood of his jacket. He was boyish and smiled brightly at her. Past him Neji stood in his uniform, watching. Sakura remembered the Morach woods and cried when each of them drank their fill. Kimimaro looked at her with such sorrow and regret she knew it hurt him just to look at her.

"I forgive you," she said, watching him burn and feeling the ice and wind of his kiss on her face one last time.

"Sakura," Kiba said, kneeling beside her. "We'll never forget you, so don't forget us."

Kiba drank and burned away.

Neji, Kagami, and Shizune all took mouthfuls for her too, whispering sweet words before they were consumed by the flames inside them.

 _"Be safe."_

 _"Be brave."_

 _"Know you are loved."_

Sakura wasn't surprised when she saw Kisame and Zabuza step up with Haku. They knelt around her as a trio, sparing a kiss for her brow, her cheek, and the shell of her ear.

"I'm so proud of you, kid," Kisame laughed. "You've grown so much and learned a lot."

"Experience has made you stronger," Zabuza said.

Sakura sighed. "You were with me whenever I picked up my sword. Could you tell?"

Haku laughed watching their faces. "They could tell."

Sakura laughed through her tears as they each took turns drinking. Haku looked so beautiful as he burned away. Zabuza smiled for her as he extinguished soon after.

"Wherever you're going, take me with you," Kisame laughed before he drank his fill.

Tsunade came to her with Kakashi and there was Menma and Naruto trailing behind time. Sakura watched as others came, whispering words of love, encouragement, and adoration before drinking their fill. The juice in the basin was more caustic the further they got, and soon there was only a couple of handfuls left and plenty of ghostly memories.

Sakura took the basin and tipped it, but couldn't let the last of the juice fall into her mouth. She was too hurt and too far gone.

"I think you need help with that, doll face."

Sakura gasped in spite of the pain it caused in her throat and turned to see him there, smiling down at her with dark lashes and a smile saved just for her. He was wearing a plain white teeshirt, jeans, and a bruise on his cheek. He smelled like the Kingdom of Man and it was almost too much.

"I love you!" Sakura exclaimed, reaching for him. "You need to know that, I love you. You died and you didn't know it then, but you need to know it now."

Sasori's smile was so sad it made tears leak from his eyes. "No, I knew. I always knew. I knew before I could help myself that I loved you, and I knew when I died during that fight that you loved me too. I've always tried to come back for you. Someway, somehow, I always wanted to be next to you. I'm sorry I wasn't myself when we met again."

Sakura laughed and it sounded like choking. "You were an asshole."

His expression winced. "I'm sorry, I know."

"You even tried to kill me."

"Never! I was supposed to, that's what my script told me to do as an actor, but I just wanted to be with you so much I…I tried to break free and steal you away. I wouldn't have done that for anyone else, it wouldn't have been possible." His hands were around her face, cupping her bloody cheek and brushing away the tears. He held her like she was something precious and she believed she was because of him. His hands trailed down her shoulders to her elbows.

Sasori was just as beautiful as she remembered him. His face was soft and doll like with lashes that would make any woman envy. He was so handsome, but more than that, he was full of love. It didn't make sense how she felt like this for him. She wanted to touch him, feel him, always be next to him.

"I couldn't help myself," she admitted. "I just loved you."

He grabbed both sides of her face and pulled her closer. "And I love you." He closed the distance between them and ignored the blood around her mouth as he gave himself into the kiss.

Sakura felt like she was the one dying this time.

When she pulled back she was dizzy and had to blink to see again. Sasori was drinking some of the last of the juice and burning up at the edges for it. It hurt to watch him turn black at the edges, but he stopped after a moment with only a mouthful left behind and looked to her again.

"I'll see you in your dreams," he whispered before kissing her again. He burned away on her lips and Sakura opened her eyes to see nothing where once there had been the man she loved.

"I'll see you again, I swear."

Sakura grabbed the edges of the basin and braced once more. She tilted it up all the way and drank the last drop.

* * *

In the morning her body was discovered casually discarded on the docks, staining the wood with blood like wine. They said she drank bleach and ruled it a suicide. Her body was a mess that began to break apart when they collected her, festering with beetles and moths, but her dental records were checked and her DNA match.

It was Sakura and that was the last they saw of her.

* * *

Here we are at the end of it all

The music and the lights don't dance on daggers like they used to

Here we are at the end of all things

The wolves and the bests don't bite on our bones like they used to

Here we are at the end of another dream

The monsters and the lovers don't bleed into the sea like they used to

Here we are at the end of it again

The gods and the sands don't swallow things like they used to

Here we are at the end

-Vesper Chan, Kingdom of Gods, 2017

* * *

AN:/ And after 11K that's enough for the final chapter. The Epilogue is coming though, and the lose ends are tied up and things will not be as they appeared. Maybe not the happy ending that everyone wanted, maybe it is, maybe, maybe, maybe... You'll see in a couple of weeks once I finish that last piece.

But yeah, that all that took forever and I am so thankful for all you lovely readers for reading, reviewing, and sticking with me this whole time. I'm saying it again because it really is the thing that kept me going, Obelisk has been the one story, while not the most reviewed, has had the most meaningful reviews to me as an author.

This is my fav fic to work on partly because so many amazing people are taking part in the journey with me. It's amazing to hear people talk about how they can relate to Sakura and her struggle and see something strong there. I hope her journey has inspired and helped people. I know it's just a little fan fic, it's just a story, but it's a life's work that represents the ongoing struggle to survive and thrive in all that you do.  
Obelisk was born out of the worst year of my life, and it's been a spine that keeps me upright as I adult my way through life. Thank you for sharing Obelisk with me. You're all lovely, I love you, and I'm in tears right now, but I think they're the good ones. I wouldn't not have gotten this far without the support, love, and care from this community. You guys are amazing.

So, one more update chapter is left in this series: the epilogue. It's been a long time in the making, but it is time for this story to come around.

I love you all. Thank you for sticking with me! (I'm still crying.)

 _If you can, please leave me a **review** to let me know you're still on board with the story and still find it interesting. I love to hear back from you and know my work is reaching people. Thank you!_


	21. Chapter 21

Part 4 in the Obelisk Series:  
Kingdom of Man, Kingdom of Beasts, Kingdom of Monsters, and Kigdom of Gods.

* * *

 **OBELISK:**  
 **KINGDOM OF GODS**

Blood ends and blood begins.  
Blood ends and light begins.

We are broken dams.  
We are goddamn broken.

We are God: dams broken.

—

 **Jeremy Radin,** from "With These Hands

* * *

Recap: _When she pulled back she was dizzy and had to blink to see again. Sasori was drinking some of the last of the juice and burning_ up at the edges for it. It hurt to watch him turn black at the edges, but he stopped after a moment with only a mouthful left behind and looked to her again. _  
_

"I'll see you in your dreams," he whispered before kissing her again. He burned away on her lips and Sakura opened her eyes to see nothing where once there had been the man she loved.

"I'll see you again, I swear."

Sakura grabbed the edges of the basin and braced once more. She tilted it up all the way and drank the last drop.

In the morning her body was discovered casually discarded on the docks, staining the wood with blood like wine. They said she drank bleach and ruled it a suicide. Her body was a mess that began to break apart when they collected her, festering with beetles and moths, but her dental records were checked and her DNA match.

It was Sakura and that was the last they saw of her.

* * *

It's late in the year and the world is a mess of gold and crimson as leaves change colors and fall. The chill is harsh enough that scarves are out in abundance and it's not too hard to imagine a world bare and cold. Soon it will be Thanksgiving and the holidays that follow are all fast approaching.

But then Thanksgiving comes.

And goes.

And it's December and the world is white.

White

White

White

The sun still rises every morning, burns across the sky, and sets each night to continue. Days run on without hesitation and the world continues to spin. There is no quarter given to the great tragedy of gods and mortals and the things that might be both.

The earth turns on and on and on…

Here you are at the end of it all.

* * *

Danzo stirred and lifted his chin from where it had settled against his collarbone. He had fallen asleep in the chair again and knew it would hurt when he pulled himself up out of it, so he settled back into his place and decided to wait a little longer before feeling the ache of burdened muscles.

He heard a door open behind him, somewhere down the hall. He kept his eyes closed and listened to the footsteps that were without sound. It was the sounds around those silent footfalls he listened to. Gemma the clumsy or Yamato the restless. Between the two of them, Yamato deserved hi name more. The others had been calling him that since the body was discovered. The small teasing was a small mercy in the grand scheme of things considering what Genma went through to keep the others from seeing how broken their senior shinobi truly was.

The only one worse off was Jugo, Log's grandson. After losing Sakura he found himself in a long empty mansion on an apple farm without a relative alive. Log has been dismembered and left in the river, but no one had been charged with the crime. Danzo knew his boys would never be touched by the law as well as he knew anything, like how he was in his last days. Some told him he wouldn't see the new year and he believed them. He didn't need to see the new year.

"Shouldn't you be in a hospital or something? This doesn't look too comfortable," a voice spoke up behind him.

Danzo forced his tired eyes open and lifted his head a fraction of an inch. He hadn't heard the figure come in behind him. When had he lost the edge of his senses. He had heard the body in the hallway but then…ah, he was getting old. He wasn't what he used to be.

"Hospitals are a waste of time. I'd rather be here, doing whatever the hell I want."

It took some effort, but Danzo reached for the arms of his chair and pushed himself up into his best posture and drew the can leaning against his side up to hit the floor with. He folded one hand over the other and rested his palms atop the head of the black wood cane. If someone had come in to see him as he was when he righted himself in such a way, no one would assume he was as bad off as he was.

"I can't see you behind me. Come here."

She laughed behind him and a lazy hand pat his shoulder in affection before the woman in furs rounded his chair to stand in between him and the window. Her body was facing the sun and the scenery beyond the glass, but her face turned back to watch him.

"It's been so long and this is how you greet me, with crusty demands?" she teased.

"You're a pain, young lady. What are you doing here?"

She hummed and looked back out the window and reached for the glass. "I'm actually saying goodbye. I'm going on a cruise with Ino and some of the others. I heard the others weren't visiting you so I thought it best if I pop in. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

Danzo huffed in annoyance. "You thought you would come here to say goodbye to me, the old grandfather you never knew? If it hadn't been for Sakura you would have never known me, so don't pretend you have feelings for this old man," he snapped at her.

Karin looked away from the scene outside and frowned at Danzo. "That's not my fault. You were the one who never contacted me. I didn't even know you existed until…until…ugh, it doesn't matter." She breathed out a huff of agitation as she reached up to fist her hand in her hair. "I thought I would try and make an effort. Sakura trusted you at the very least so it was good enough for me to give it a shot. I don't know if I wasted my time though."

"You did."

Karin's eyes narrowed, but whereas once upon a time that would make her look dangerous, something in her expression had broken so badly that dangerous looks weren't possible anymore. She hid behind a layer of hurt too thinly masked to look dangerous. She didn't have the energy for it.

"Would you not do this, please. I can see what your game is. You're being a bitch to everyone on purpose, poor Yamato and Genma, because you don't want them to see you die. Let people make that decision on their own. Maybe they want to be with you in your final moments. Maybe they want to share what little time you have left making good memories."

Danzo let his eyes close, too tired to keep them open. "I've made too many terrible memories to be forgiven. I dragged both those boys down a path we can never come back from, and that heresy will haunt us all into our graves. I thought I knew better, but I was wrong."

Karin was quiet for a long time. She left one hand on the glass and it warmed in spite of the cold outside. The afternoon sun warmed the glass while the rest of the world glistened in melting patches of snow. People were making bets on if it would stay white for Christmas or if it would all melt again and return to warmer than normal temperatures. Every weekend it was different.

"No one knew what would happen. Sakura…Sakura made her choice."

Danzo lifted his head but couldn't open his eyes. He remembered his boys taking the news terribly. At first neither believed it. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for something to happen, for the reveal that was an accumulation of all their hopes and dreams…but that never came. After the first week it was tense, the second week was heavy, by the third week they were dragging themselves to the lot where her badly burned body had been laid to rest and crying into her soil like it would do a damn.

Two months later and they were still crying into her grave.

Gemma had adored her as a close friend, someone he could let close to his true self. She was one of the few women he saw as anything more than a potential lover, but rather a true friend. Gemma didn't have many of those, and it really had very little to do with her being a part of the curse. It was a sick twist of fate how close they had grown before the curse became an open secret between all their members. To Genma, Sakura was one of his family, and killing Log hadn't helped ease the pain any.

Yamato took it worse from an outsider's point of view. While Genma retreated to his vices Yamato wallowed in his feelings and shut the rest of the world out. Sakura had been a friend to him, but Yamato had always devoted a part of his heart to her that wasn't a token of friendship. His adoration for her was a bit more humbling and it had only grown worse after realizing what plagued her was a curse he had sworn his lift against. He thought they were fated for their roles, that he was the one had picked by destiny to be the what and the who she needed in order to win. But his hope was what tormented him into the present.

It made Danzo think of the story of Pandora, and how at the very end, emerging from the forbidden box, after all the vile evil sins were set upon the world, the last thing to emerge was hope. Too many children believed that Hope emerging after all the sins was a benevolent ending to the the myth, but Danzo thought different now. Hope was the most brutal of tormentors. All of their bright burning hopes for one girl had turned back on them and obliterated their spirits far worse than any sin. Hope was a dangerous thing, it's power should have never been underestimated.

How dangerous a thing hope is.

"Did you hear me?"

Danzo lifted his head again, keeping his eyes shut as he turned his thoughts out. He had been musing on how Sakura's loss hurt all of them, but he hadn't considered Karin, the girl who arguably knew Sakura best and loved her better than any of them.

"Do I look like a man fit for hearing?" he groused.

"Not in the least."

He grunted and waved a hand at her dismissively. "Then figure it out yourself. I haven't got all day if it's something important you better spit it out now while I'm still awake."

Her tone was sarcastic when she spoke. "I was talking about how I hope I inherit all of this once you finally croak, old man. You're not enjoying any of it like you should."

"You were not even a concept when I considered my will. You mother left my home for thin, little white lines all those years ago and none of her blood were ever considered again. You can cut the act. Faking cute won't get you anywhere."

"Are you sure? I do a real good Shirley Temple impersonation."

"How do you even know who that is?" he couldn't help but mutter.

"Sakura used to love those stupid old movies. I couldn't stand them without something strong to drink but…you know what, never mind. I was saying earlier that I'll be back in a few weeks because of university classes."

He didn't ask her how she was affording classes even though he knew she wasn't taking out loans, he had been kept up to date on her finances to that point at least. He was too tired for that conversation. He was likely too tired for most conversations.

"We're nothing more than strangers to each other," Danzo grumbled. He was too tired for this conversation too.

Karin clicked her tongue. "Strangers don't care like this."

"You don't care."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not in the habit of wasting my time for no reason. I thought you might need, if nothing else, someone to take out some of your anger on. You're a pissy old man waiting around to die. I'm sorry if I thought I should try to be anything to you, you crap apple."

He snorted at her insult. "How creative."

"Whatever. I'm heading out. If I don't see you after this then…it was nice, I guess." In a huff she reached up and ran a hand through her hair. "I mean, it was nice to know someone Sakura trusted at least. Thank you for taking care of her when I couldn't."

The biting edges fell out of him and Danzo couldn't find them again. He would have bit something out to his once estranged granddaughter about the situation, but there was nothing for him to ridicule in her words. What a fitting way for her to leave him.

He heard her move away, and when he forced open his eyes he saw the window, the sunlight, and nothing else. Once more, he was alone with himself and his thoughts. He didn't like his thoughts.

'You failed. You did't do what you said you would do. You didn't take care of that girl. You were too hungry to see a god you missed the child in front of you. Serves you right. Wallow in it.'

It was almost as if Karin's visit had shaken free something rancid in his mind. He knew his thoughts wouldn't lighten for another great while and he wasn't in the mood to withstand the regret.

The sound of heels coming down the wooden hallway made his skin crawl. What had that damn granddaughter forgotten now? The door to his room was pushed open and he heard her come in even though he didn't turn around to greet her.

"There's nothing left to say, brat," he barked out in an effort to hide how hurt he really was. What more did she want from him? Maybe it served him right to be pricked this way by his estranged kin.

A smooth pale hand settled on his shoulder and squeezed through the fabric to find the shape of his bone there. He was little more than skin and bones these days, after all.

"That's not how someone with stage four liver cancer should talk when he has visitors."

He stilled as the energy he needed to open his eyes came out of nowhere. A half second later he turned in his seat and Sakura smiled down at him. She wore an oversized white fur coat that brushed around her thighs over a slim fit black dress meant for holiday parties. There were glittering jewels dangling from her ears but he hardly noticed.

"You," he whispered like a prayer. "You didn't…."

Sakura released his shoulder and walked around to stand in front of the old man. Reaching for his hands she knelt down on the floor in front of his chair and smiled up at him with soft eyes and kind lips. Her hair was expertly styled into a finger wave that culled under her ears and flirted with her jawline.

"It's me. It's really me. No ghost this time."

"You're too warm to be a ghost."

She laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm running a little hot these days. I'm not sure exactly why that is, but it's not bothering me much. You're just too cold in comparison."

The shock abated as logic reigned in his thoughts. When he looked at her he saw a face he knew good and well, but there was something else there. There were lights in her eyes that reflected the light in beams of gold and her skin was missing the little stars and imperfections almost all teenagers carry into early adulthood. There was nothing wounded or imperfect about her.

"You didn't die, then? Was that your plan all along?"

"Oh no, I died. I couldn't fit inside my body anymore, after all. It hurt like you wouldn't believe and I almost went crazy in panic after the last trial. I woke up and burned through my body until I couldn't take it anymore and then I…just let go. I didn't know what that would mean at the time, I thought I might really died, but it was….different."

Her voice was light in a whisper but Danzo could hear other sounds layered under her words, like there was something she was trying to hold back.

"What happened in the dream? What was the last trial?"

So Sakura told him about the tree and the fruit and the acid she had to drink to become a god. She told him about all the other actors and how it was only through their efforts and with their love, support, and belief was she able to swallow down the last of the holy nectar.

The last drop forced her away and into a panic as suddenly her body was too small, too harsh, too sharp, too everything for her to live inside of anymore. She could feel herself dying, decaying, moving closer to death with every breath and it was too much for her to take, so she burned her way out of her body into something else that wasn't a physical form at all.

"I drifted for days, not knowing what to do. Eventually I got the hang of it and started to craft for myself a…something to live in. I was a spirit that needed a body and I wanted on that wouldn't decay, but was still recognizable.

"You made a body-out of what?"

Sakura's smile slipped into a smirk as she released one of his hands to hold her own up, palm out. There was nothing there, but in the next instance, winked into existence, sat a bright red apple. Sakura turned it around before letting it roll off her hand and melt into gold and dust on the way down.

Sakura wiggled her fingers and the dusty gold mess on the floor was gone. "I made it out of whatever this world is made of, it was just like being in the dream. It's a little harder sometimes, because the texture of this reality's fabric is denser and more chaotic, but the style of it is the same. I guess that was one of the lessons we were supposed to learn while in the Obelisk. It was training for this."

"Godhood?" Danzo breathed.

"If you want to call it that," Sakura hummed, frowning to herself. "I don't feel like a god. I feel powerful, but if this is what gods are made out of I'm disappointed. I'm still me, just with a new trick or two."

Sakura released his hand completely and stepped backwards, pulling herself up to her best posture before extending her hand and drawing the creases of light together. In her palm formed a small galaxy that sucked all the sunlight out of the room until Danzo sat atop a chair of darkness in a void of space. In Sakura's hand was the only light, but it sparkled and winked around her fingers.

"I can destroy, I can create, out of nothing but thought and imagination I can construct empires and castles and monsters. I can erase from my sight the form of all my enemies, I can eradicate your diseases and yet I am still too soft with feeling." Sakura looked up from the galaxy in her hand and the light on her face made her frown stand out all the more. "But I have never been more scared in my life."

Danzo couldn't help it. The heat in his eyes spill dover and he felt the tears on his cheeks. His chest hurt as a hick up shook his body. He was seeing nothing but his dream made flesh. After all his years and all his struggles and all his sacrifices in blood and bone he was finally, finally, seeing the summary of his heart's greatest desire. He had done it. He had lived to see the beginning and the end. He had lived to see a human make herself god.

Sakura scattered the galaxy around them and it grew to glitter all around them while she fell at his knees. Her coat and dress had melted into a slinking gown made out of space and stars, clinging and then flowing in parts. She took his face in her hands and wiped away his tears.

"Danzo, I can heal you now. I can take away your cancer."

He felt his heart shudder in his chest as he struggled to breath the way he always had. "There's no need for that now. I don't need to live anymore."

"Danzo."

He reached to lay his hands over hers that still cradled his face. His eyes were open and he saw her. "I have lived to see my dream realized. Would you help me?"

The question hadn't been explained but Sakura still understood what he asked of her. Her eyes shut as if she didn't want to see him anymore, but she swallowed and nodded. "I will." Sakura let go of his face and stepped back. "Watch me, don't look away."

Danzo stared straight ahead as Sakura cracked open her shell and flooded the room with the condensed essences of her new self, the soul that needed a body. She shined so bright the world cried out around her, a multitude of voices shrieked at the sight of her though they were still alone, the rumbling circled back around and then there was nothing.

But

Silence

Danzo's body was later discovered by the housecleaner and they toured the death of a man who had died suddenly in the midst of his battle with an incurable cancer. No one cared to notice how the cancer had actually been removed from his body, or how all the old scars had been stripped away, or even the way his face seemed to just naturally rest in a smile.

* * *

Sakura tugged the front of her fur coat and looked back up at the house one last time before sighing. She had hoped things might go differently, at least with Karin and Danzo, but it had all unraveled as she assumed it would. Danzo had been Danzo to the very end. He died from the weight of her glory. What should have killed her ended his life.

"You'll get cold."

Sakura blinked and turned back to smile at her driving companion. Sai instead he be the one that drive them both everywhere they needed to go since driving was still a fairly new concept to him now that he had a human body. He claimed it wasn't the same as when he had to drive in the dreams.

"You know I don't get cold," Sakura teased, climbing into the backseat.

Gaara looked up from the phone in his hand and smiled when she slid in to sit beside him. His hair had been left a little too wild for the soft gray suit and Italian leather shoes cleaned so well she could see reflections in them. It was an outfit Ino had picked out, after all.

"What did the old man have to say?" Madara asked, turning around in his seat to watch her enter their car. He didn't spare Sai a second glance as the last door shut and the engine turned back on.

"Nothing I didn't expect. I'm glad he had his peace though…at the end. Karin was right."

"You going to be okay?" Gaara asked, reaching for her hand and brushing his thumb across her knuckles. The touch drew her attention and saved her from staring off into nothing.

From the front seat Madara glowered at the contact but said nothing. He was getting better about it, but sometimes he would still let his reactions slip out and beyond his control. Still, at the end of the day he said he was just glad he was with her at all.

After Sakura manifested a body it had been a shaky day or two of stumbling about in Cairo where only a handful of people spoke English. It was Sai who found her next and helped her through the transition process. Those days had been hell. The world had been too bright, too heavy, too smelly, too constricting, too much for her in a body that hadn't been made for such constraints.

He helped her understand the feel of power in a new body, and before two weeks were up she was fluent in half a dozen languages and pulling apples and hamburgers out of thin air.

Sakura had been ready to leave after that, but they heard about an accidental break in around the area where she had woken up and upon investigation, discovered a pair of self aware men looking for her. Madara and Gaara had manifested in their bodies in vastly different areas around the globe, but ran across each other in their shared search for Sakura. Once they found her, it was clear they had no intention of letting her go.

There were others too. Sai was better about hearing things and had found Tsunade of all people, tending to a tribe of sick children somewhere in Brazil.

"All the others who shared that drink with you are here now, a part of your pantheon."

And it made sense. They bore the weight of her sacrifice with her, after all. And all throughout history, there were gods with gods and goddesses with goddesses. Zeus was not without his family and loves just as Isis was not without her brothers and children. All gods came in sets.

Coming back to Karin and Ino had been priority though and once Sakura had her gang of girls back together they had agreed that the best thing to do was just sail away for a little while and let the world move on without them while they all adjusted to what would come next.

What would come next?

They drove to the harbor where only a handful of cars were allowed to park. From the window Sakura could see the sleek contour of the Obelisk, a Sphinx-class cruise ship that was ready for the small party to board and take her out to see. Karin said it was overkill and Sakura said she didn't know the meaning of the word anymore. Imagining a cruise ship hadn't even winded her.

"They're all here, aren't they?" Madara grumbled, running a hand through his hair and ruffling it. Sakura recognized it as a habit that was especially utilized around his relatives or the other Uchiha males who were so much neater with things like their hair and their looks.

Waiting at the ramp Itachi talked to Sasuke, likely scolding his younger brother for something as the pair watched out for trespassers. Sai had said once that finding Madara made it easier to find relatives like Itachi, Sasuke, and Shisui. Others would be harder to find, no doubt.

Itachi smiled at the approaching party, not caring for how Sasuke glared daggers into the side of his face. "The girls have gone ahead already. We were just waiting for you."

"You don't have to look like a sour grape all the time, kid," Madara groused as he passed Sasuke.

Sasuke glared at the oldest Uchiha before glancing back over at Sakura. The glare melted into a puppy pout. "He's been following me everywhere. He won't let me take a shift or a job on my own no matter where I go."

"Now brother, is that really so terrible. It's been so long since we've been together."

"You've been glued to my side for two months! Let me live a little. Go pester Shisui."

Sakura chuckled to herself as she passed the brothers and trailed behind Madara up the plank and onto the ship. Konan was already sunbathing on the desk along with Nageto while Pein made drinks for all three of them at the bar. He noticed at once when she arrived and stopped to watch her. Sakura smiled and waved, still not used to the intense way his eyes always trailed her.

"Does it seem odd to you to be going out to see without Kisame and Haku and Zabuza?" Sakura asked, leaning into Sai.

"We will find them. It is only a matter of time before our paths cross. This world is not big enough for gods to live in it without noticing one another." Sai offered her a small smile. "It doesn't hurt that most of them are actively looking for you the moment they come into awareness."

"It's still weird to think about. Us being all bonded…" Sakura let her words trail off as she stared down at her hands. She couldn't see anything odd about them, but the way Sai talked about the others who drank the ichor with her she wanted to pretend there were threads around her fingers fraying and trailing off to tie off around the fingers of everyone else.

Gaara touched her hip lightly and then left her side with an apologetic smile. Sakura smiled back, watching him cross the deck to where his sister was threatening to toss Kankuro overboard. She was shaking the middle sibling horribly when Gaara raised a hand. His sand materialized out of air and broke the pair up. Temari peeped in embarrassment and bowed her head, blushing scarlet while her youngest brother began to scold her and Kankuro both for being rough. The entire scene made Sakura want to laugh.

When they came into the world, the actors like Gaara and Madara and Pein all came with limited powers, but powers nevertheless. Sakura's abilities were the most developed out of all of them, by far, but Pein still made it rain and struck people he didn't like with lightning, Madara swayed the minds with his red spinning eyes and Gaara was still the same sandman.

"I need to check in on Karin," Sakura said, leaning into Sai.

He nodded and with a quick kiss on the cheek, she was walking off to the lower decks where the fancy rooms for sleeping and resting were. There were too many rooms and half of them would never be used, but Sakura anticipated discovering more people from the Obelisk to help fill up some more of the ship. It was a dream of hers, to find them all and bring them into her fold like a found family.

Sakura spotted Ino in the hallway with an ice bucket and flagged her down.

"Have you seen Karin?"

The blonde nodded. "She's resting in my room. Give it another day and she'll find her sea legs. Did you have something you wanted to talk to her about?"

Sakura shook her head. "I can speak to her about it later. She already knew I was going to be there visiting Danzo right after her visit. I just wanted to update her on how it went but I can wait until she is feeling better."

Ino stared at Sakura for a moment longer and then smiled softly, seeing something. "She'll understand. You don't have to beat yourself up for any of it."

Sakura flushed. "I'm not. Who said I was?"

"Your face, honey." Ino laughed and reached over to kiss the side of Sakura's face. "It's written all over. You care for us too much. Make sure you come visit me later too."

"I'll fit you in somewhere on my busy schedule," Sakura mocked in an overly fancy British accent, pretending to write in a book.

It made Ino laugh like it used to when they were both girls together, mocking the men and women who worked too hard and never enjoyed life enough. Now they finally could be the people they said they would become when they were kids.

"Hey, where are you going after this?" Ino asked. Sakura had been walking away but she stopped to look back at her blonde friend.

"I was going to check in and see if Yamato and Genma made it here yet. Last I heard they said they were going to be on board before five, but it's four and Yamato has been known to arrive ahead of schedule. Sai needs their help plotting a course that brings us closer to where some of the other actors might be."

Ino's brows drew together. "I don't think either of them showed up, I would have recognized them, but we did get another arrival. Check your cabin."

Sakura thought that was an odd place to check since most of the people who were new or newly arrived, would wait for her in open spaces like the deck, like Lee and Neji had.

Her quarters were three times as large as the normal cabins and in their own wing of the ship with too many windows and a bed big enough to sleep forever in. Sakura let herself in and slipped her fur coat down to her elbows before shrugging out of it completely and folding it over her arm.

"Hello?" she called out. She let herself further into the room, hearing movement behind the curtain on the small balcony her room led out to. She tossed her coat aside and put on her best smile, eager to see who had come to them.

The white gauze of the curtains blew around her and settled only when she reached to pin them down with her hand. He placed his palm over her hand, helping her restrain the curtain while also drawing himself closer to her. Sakura stilled, her eyes going wide.

"You said you'd see me again, why are you so surprised?"

Her voice was barely there when she breathed out. "Is this a dream?"

Sasori chuckled and drew her closer with an arm wrapped around her waist. Another hand went into her hair and tugged her to him. "Not this time, doll face."

Sakura melted into that kiss and every kiss after.

* * *

Here we are at the end of it all

The music and the lights don't dance on daggers like they used to

Here we are at the end of all things

The wolves and the bests don't bite on our bones like they used to

Here we are at the end of another dream

The monsters and the lovers don't bleed into the sea like they used to

Here we are at the end of it again

The gods and the sands don't swallow things like they used to

Here we are at the end

-Vesper Chan, Kingdom of Gods, 2017

-FIN-

* * *

AN:/ And that is the Epilogue. It's not perfect in explaining everything, like how Jugo stayed behind to finish writing Sakura's story off of vice recordings she sends him from different places around the world, or how Ami who is in Europe studying photography is surprised but happy to see friends she hasn't heard from in months? And then there is the whole drama with the council members and the leftovers of Danzo's Root soldiers. Yamato and Genma take over and keep track of their small army for Sakura I think.

I love happy endings. I love sad and heart crushing moments too, but I'm a sucker for the happy endings and originally this was supposed to end with Sakura just sailing around looking for Sasori, but I...had to make them kiss at the end. Let the guy have his kiss. The nature of her relationship with the rest of the guys...that's up to you. Maybe Sakura's a one-man sort of gal, or maybe she's the goddess of a small harem. Who knows. I will leave that up to you.

This isn't Naruto chapter 700 where nothing makes sense.

If you've been here since the beginning or you're coming to this story long after it's ended, I hope you enjoyed the adventure. Obelisk has been my heart's delight for years now, and it's done and finished on my birthday like I planned it that way or something. (I didn't.)

I'm going to be emotional about this for a while-days more. But thank you all. You guys have been awesome. I am so thankful for all you lovely readers for reading, reviewing, and sticking with me this whole time. It's been amazing to hear from people who are depressed or broken or hurting and hear how Obelisk resonates with them and their struggles. That is Obelisk and I'm humbled to be able to work as a person who manages to help others.

Thank you for sharing Obelisk with me. You're all lovely, I love you, I wouldn't not have gotten this far without the support, love, and care from this community. You guys are amazing. I love you all. Thank you for sticking with me!

That's the end.

 _If you can, please leave me a **review** to let me know you're still on board with the story and still find it interesting. I love to hear back from you and know my work is reaching people. Thank you!_


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